


The Kind Option

by FluffyPuffySheeps



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alpha Bruce Wayne, Alpha Dick Grayson, Alpha Jason Todd, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Beta Alfred Pennyworth, Beta Cassandra Cain, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Relationships, But he's trying..., Creepy Ra's al Ghul, Gen, Gen ABO, Hurt Tim Drake, Male Lactation, Multi, Omega Tim Drake, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Tim Drake, Scenting, Tim Drake is a CEO and He is Dead inside, Tim Drake-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24100501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyPuffySheeps/pseuds/FluffyPuffySheeps
Summary: Perhaps, if it had been any other person, he’d be less worried. But this was the little Omega, the one who every instinct in him was screaming to go find, to save.This was Tim, who never knew when to stop.Tim is the only Omega in his family. It’s the instinct of all Omegas to look out for the emotional health of all pack, just like it is the responsibility of all pack members to look out for Omegas- or in this case, the single Omega. So Tim keeps them safe in his own way.Except they might be safe- but is Tim?
Relationships: Batfamily Members & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake/Ra's al Ghul
Comments: 94
Kudos: 875





	1. Jason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yello.  
> Sorry, this first chapter isn't my favorite, but I promise it gets better.  
> Updates every three days.  
> It's mostly prewritten and has a plot and subplots (whaaaat)  
> Batfam is on a lot better terms in this. Other world building is explained later.  
> Written due to Selinastark's comment on my other abo fic, " a story made up of several chapters where the situation of each of his siblings, or pseudo-siblings, is discussed, and how Tim protects them without them knowing it" heh heh took that and made a 30k fic out of it....oops  
> cw: one mention of an attempted rape in this chapter, like real small but I'm careful and ya'll's mental health is important, more triggers/cw later on , I'll tag as I go

The Red Hood groaned as loudly as he could, just to be a *******. Honestly Replacement, hurry up. The concrete wall was hard and the ground was dirty. Was that…. Yes, that was broken glass. Who knew how much bacteria had already gotten in his wound. Which was a freaking stab wound. What sort of person brought a knife to a gunfight? (Well, the Pretender brought a staff, but he did ok). 

“Sorry, sorry, so sorry, they had backup. You ok?”

“Well, my patience died.”

“You’re a jerk. Move your hand, I need to clean it up and bandage it.”

Red Hood hissed as the alcohol burned against the exposed bits of flesh.

“That’s going to need stitches.” 

“Yeah, and you’re gonna need a cane to walk if you don’t HURRY UP AND GET IT WRAPPED.”   
  


“Ok, ok, geez.”   
  


Red Robin ignored his muttered complaints as he wound the strip of cloth tightly around his abdomen.

“There! Right then, what safe house are we going to?”

“What the  _ heck _ are you talking about?”   
  


“Hood, I’m not letting you drive in this condition. And I’m not leaving you until I’m sure that you’ve got some stitches in that. Funnily enough, I do care about your continued existence.”

Welp. That hit a lot harder than he thought. Stupid Omegas, and their stupid ways with emotions. He couldn’t even  _ smell _ Tim, ‘cause of the scent blockers.

“The one on 73rd.”

Red Robin hoisted him up onto his tricked out bike- which. Dang, Replacement, that is one nice bike. Maybe he could borrow it sometime. Or, you know, just take it. But that was still borrowing. Just without asking.

He eyed the kid’s back with contempt as the engine fired up. Kid probably drove like a ****** ‘ grandma. Slow and steady all the way; cautious defined Red Robin.

Oh how wrong he was.

Red Robin drove fast and crazy, a breath stealing sort of insane that weaved in and out through traffic until Red Hood was less worried about the hole in his side and more worried about surviving this drive. He screamed something, once, at this imposter for his maybe sort of brother, but Red Robin tried to scream back and only succeeded in nearly crashing the two of them. 

Hood had not tried to distract him again.

When they finally reached his base, Jason basically fell off the bike and lay on the ground.

“Jay, Jason! You ok?”

“Sweet, sweet ground. Oh, I am so sorry for ever doubting your stability.” He kissed the ground a few times for extra dramatics, then spat out at the taste.

“Dirt not quite to your liking? I thought you would be happy with your brethren. Come on, lean on me.”

Tim helped him up, supporting all of him on his left side. The kid grunted a few times, which Jason couldn’t help but snicker at, the tiny thing the Omega was, and got him up the stairs. He was all but pushed off onto the couch in the tiny apartment they entered. Jason liked to switch places every few months, so it was mostly bare. The obligatory bookshelves lined most surfaces, staples in every place he bought, but the table was cheap and the couch ragged. It didn’t have a feeling of home (unlike the Manor).

“Who did you learn to drive from? The devil? The patron saint of craziness? The Arkham school for driving?”

“Shut up. If you must know, school taught me. At least, the hard bits. Most of it was on my own. Who taught you?”

Jason was quiet for a moment. The memories flooded in, memories of laughing, having a dad. “Bruce did.”

Tim was quiet for a moment too, pulling out a needle and letting the silence persist as he stitched Jason up and rebandaged him. 

Then he pulled off his scent blocker.

“What’re you doing?”

“Come on, big guy, we’re going out.”

“Out? Where to?”

“Out. Move it.”

Well now, looks like the Replacement is a man with a plan. Hopefully he’s not taking him to some back alleyway or somethin’. Jason peeled off his own scent blocker, and got changed into some civvies, being careful not to pull at the new stitches. The Omega was out there when he finished, in a hoodie and sweatpants, looking entirely comfortable in his place.

“Alright!” He barked, causing the kid to jump. “Where we goin’?”   
  


Tim gave him a quick grin, a plotting smile and led him outside to the bike. Jason decided to stop  _ that _ in its tracks. He does enjoy his second life, thank you very much.

“I’m driving.” His tone brooked no argument.

Tim directed him from the back seat down some suspiciously familiar streets, until they finally stopped in front of a place he knows very, very well.

“44 drive in? How the heck do you know about this place?”

“I used to stalk you and Bruce, remember?” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I know  _ everything _ .”

“Ok, gonna ignore how incredibly creepy that is, why are we here?”

“‘Cause you look like you need some incredibly unhealthy diner food, and I’m in the mood for a greasy burger. “

“Fair enough.”

They found a ratty booth, torn up from years and years of use, in the corner, where they could see everyone but few could see them. Bat training never really leaves you. The diner is full of nostalgia. Back in the day, he and Bruce used to come here after patrol, get milkshakes and burgers. It was… nice. Peaceful. Untouched by any of the bad things that came afterwards.

Jason had absolutely no idea what  his brother  the kid was trying to do here.

He’s not going to refuse a free milkshake though.

Jason lasted maybe 5 minutes.

“Ok, what’s this all about? What are you trying to do? Butter me up with diner food so you can get a favor?”

“No? I just want to eat a burger.”

“That’s not it and we both know it.”

“No Jason, that’s all there is to it. I honestly don’t want anything but a burger. I don’t care what you do, besides to sit here and not kill me.”

“Geez, setting the bar low.”

And that’s nice. That the bar is so low. It’s not Bruce, ragging on about him for his something or another and ending up shouting at him, and it’s not Dick, dragging him around to do things. Oddly enough, it’s liberating not to have any expectations forced on him.

“So… what do you do for fun?”

Tim raises an eyebrow. “5 points to Gryffindor for the most awkward conversation starter.”

“Hey! I’m a Ravenclaw!”

“You- actually I can see that. Closet nerd, super good at school, secretly an introvert, actually went and got a GED, unlike some of us.”

Jason nearly spit out his milkshake. “What do you mean, some of us? Goldie finished high school. He was in college for a little while, too. And you’re still in high school, ‘cause you’re like 17, 18, so you haven’t had a chance to finish.”

“Actually, I dropped out. I’m a CEO, remember?”

What? This did not compute. How the heck did Bruce let Babybir- Replacement get away with this? He remembered Bruce pushing him hard about his grades. Well, at least caring. He didn’t need to push because Jason loved school. Still did. 

He opened his mouth to say something, but Tim stood up.

“I gotta go to the bathroom, be right back.”

He walked off. Jason stretched for a second, then pulled out his phone to play a game. Tim wasn’t ditching him. Nope. He wouldn’t do that, would he?

Either way, Jason wasn’t continuing that line of conversation. Tim hadn’t talked to him about anything regarding B, and he wasn’t going to either. That always seemed to blow up in his face. Besides, the Replacement wasn’t Goldie. Maybe they didn’t have to have heart to hearts to be  brothers friends. It  _ would _ be nice to be on better terms with one of the Bats. They worked together a lot these days anyways. Wouldn’t hurt to do something outside of work with him. Being close to  his the Wayne’s Pack Omega would certainly improve relations with the Bats all around too.

He sighed, took the last sip of his milkshake, judged Tim was taking too long, and reached to steal one of the kid’s fries. At least, that was what he was going to do. Instead, his hand hovered in front of a rose arranged on his plate.

Jason glanced around. Had someone dropped it there? He hadn’t seen anyone pass by. Actually, if he hadn’t seen anybody, they must’ve snuck past. Getting past the hypervigilant net Bruce had drilled in him was a feat.

Suddenly the rose seemed ominous.

Poison Ivy? Didn’t seem like her M.O. 

He pulled out his phone again and, against his better judgement, took a picture. Even as the shutter sounded, footsteps came from the general direction of the back of the business.

“Hey, ‘Placement, you got a present.”

He gestured towards the flower, and almost missed the scowl that flitted across the other’s face. Before he could get a lock down on his emotions, too, Jason sniffed the air and took in the way his scent rapidly soured,  _ disgust _ and a tiny bit of  _ fear _ in there. But then his face smoothed over, scent returned to the normal Tim smell, and the Omega plucked the rose and threw it in the trash.

Jason raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m done, you?”

“Yeah, yeah, you need a ride back? ‘Cause I’m not letting you drive back.”

“Actually…. Could I stay the night with you?”

What. What the h***. For those who are just joining us right here on Jason’s Brain space, what was this kid thinking? 

“Never mind, it’s just you were making pasta the other day, and I wanted to try some, actually I don’t know why I said that, but my apartment’s air conditioning broke down, and it’s super hot in there, and I don’t really feel like heading back there, ‘cause I’m not going to get any sleep, not like I ever do, but-”

“Woah, hold up. You could have led with the fact that your air conditioning broke. Why aren’t you staying at the Manor?”

“Think about it.”

Damian.

“Sure. Geez, next time figure out what you’re saying. I was a bit concerned ya thought this was all a date for a second.”   
  
Tim looks absolutely horrified at the thought, which makes this whole idea completely worth it.

“So, what house are you anyway?”

“Slytherin.”

“Why am I not surprised.”

______________________________

Jason awoke with a gasp, heart pounding, breath coming in and out like he’d just run a marathon, flashes of green tinging the edges of his vision,  _ there wasn’t enough air- _

“Woah, Jay, calm down. Shhhhhh. You’re alright.”

Joker was there, he was going to beat him again, but not with a crowbar this time, this time it was going to be with his _ own two guns _ , no place was safe-

A warm body leapt onto the bed, jostling it from side to side, and slid in next to Jason. He thrashed a bit in response, but the arms encircling him only got tighter. There was something…. Relaxing about his scent? It filtered in through the green, pouring into his pores, until his breath came a little easier. His body unwound, tension falling away, until all he could feel was those two (skinny) arms around him.

“Tim?” He croaked.

“Shhhh. I gotcha. You’re ok.”

“What-?”

“You had a nightmare.”

“Oh.” Then Jason’s sleepy brain caught up a bit, “ _ Oh.” _

He lay there for a moment, processing. Had Tim heard what was going, seen, smelled his distress, and thought nothing more than to jump right in? What. What was going on in his life anymore. He didn’t. He didn’t think anyone would do that (for him). 

His silence must’ve suggested something else, because Tim hesitantly said “I can. I can go? If you want? It’s just that you looked kind of terrified, and I didn’t want you to be alone, but- yeah. I’ll just leave.” The arms fell off and the small body started to slip away.

“No.” His voice was still gruff with sleep, and he was 99% sure that embarrassment would be the main emotion in the morning, but he knew what he wanted. “C’mere babybird.” He wrapped an arm around the Omega and reeled him in tight, right next to his side. 

“Ok? I thought-”

“You’re my **** little brother, I don’t care what you think.”

The little laugh that Tim gave vibrated against his chest. 

Then Jason added: “We both know I didn’t wake you up. You weren’t asleep in the first place.”

“You caught me.”

“Yeah, well, you’re a stupid little brother.” And Jason was going to regret this in the morning. He was going to regret this so, so much. “But you’re  _ my  _ little brother.” He pulled up the small body to where he could kiss him on the forehead. The noise Tim made in response was hard to place but- Purring. His little brother was purring. It vibrated through every part of him, like a weird massage, but it was perfect and wonderful and every one of his Alpha instincts was screaming  _ safe, you’re safe, there’s no one safer, pack is here _ .

Well, who was he to argue with biology?

“Don’t go.” The plea slipped out of him before he could stop it,

“I won’t.” Tim promised.

He was definitely going to regret this in the morning.

The purring continued on, sounding like his mother, long ago. Pressed up against him, the body was small, but warm. He’d always thought that TIm’s scent was a lonely one standing out in the rain, earthy and wet and petrichor (because once upon a time Jason had been a nerd and had a good vocabulary). Now though, it felt less alone and more at one with the world. It was soaking in the beauty of life and nature, not staring at the inevitability of it all.

He let the waves of sleep, smelling strangely like earth after rain, pull him in.

______________________

Tim tuned out Jason’s voice in favor of staring out the window. Was that- Shoot. Shoot. He knew how Jason felt about that sort of stuff. He’d freak out. (For some reason, Jason had always been a little more violent to these offenders) Probably grab his gun and shoot someone. He tuned back in, catching the tail end of what he Jason had been saying

“-you’re like 17, 18, so you haven’t had a chance to finish.”

“Actually, I dropped out. I’m a CEO, remember?”

Jason looked uncharacteristically concerned about that statement, but he needed to go fix this before it got worse.

“I gotta go to the bathroom, be right back.”

He walked over to the bathroom, but slipped into the kitchen (where the workers greeted him, he’d paid them off long ago, they thought he was just trying to escape paparazzi- which was true sometimes) and out to the back. Where there was an older man cornering a young woman. She was crying, but the older guy was shouting at her. Quickly, he pulled out a small, compact tranq gun he’d made exactly for this situation, and shot the older man.

He ducked out of sight just as the man fell over, and waited to make sure the younger woman had run off before going back to the restaurant.

Jason was already struggling with the Pit, he didn’t need another episode.

It was the Omega’s job to protect the emotions of the Pack.


	2. Dick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Dick would be freaked out, irrationally, if he threatened one of his siblings. I mean, I would, wouldn't you?  
> Kudos and comments are much appreciated~  
> Edit: Someone pointed out that I accidently copied this chapter twice so apologies on that :) Oops. Working on fixing it.

_Jason stretched, feeling refreshed. He hadn’t that good night’s sleep in…. Months. As the memories of the night before filtered back in, he sat and up and got dressed. Tim had been here…. Tim had been_ here _. Here. In his bed. Oh **** he’d called him his little brother. What the **** had he been thinking? He glanced around, looking for the kid, either to apologize or yell at him or he didn’t know, but no one was there. Patting the spot next to him, he could tell it was still warm. The kid had been there recently (the whole night).  
_

_The rest of his clothes came on and he walked out to the kitchen. A note waited for him on the counter._

_Hey Jay, sorry about last night._

_Hope you feel better._

_Ate the pasta. It was good. Invite me over next time you have some, k?_

_Chuckling (relieved there were no awkward conversations), he pulled out his phone and sent Tim the date of his next pasta night. What a weird kid. He scrolled through his phone some more, than found the picture of that strange rose. What the heck was up with that? The whole thing gave him a weird feeling. Replacement had looked so… terrified and disgusted all at the same time. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal… but maybe it was. Against his better judgement, he sent a text to Bruce, along with the caption: Timbo got a secret admirer I’m not aware of? One who happens to be able to sneak past me?_

_Is someone harassing Tim?_

Tim opened the door to Dick’s apartment and stood for a moment to take it all in. It looked a bit messier than usual- clothes strewn about, cereal boxes lining the counter, photographs of the pack a bit crooked on the walls. It had that Dick scent too- something that made him feel like hugs and warm and smores over a campfire. Oddly specific, but Tim had been camping with Dick before. He had thought Dick’s obsession with cereal was bad. Smores….. (No, Dick! No! You’ve already had the equivalent of ten candy bars!). Well, Tim did not invite Dick camping anymore.

Quietly, he crept into the room, padding softly along the carpet. Dick was asleep in the other room taking some rare time off from being a vigilante. He just needed to-

There!

On the table sat Dick’s computer containing all of his information on cases with a flashdrive sitting next to it. Normally, Tim would have just hacked in, but Dick hadn’t uploaded anything yet. He’d retrieved the flash drive only a few hours ago. That drive was the reason Tim had gone to all this work, sacrificed his few hours of sleep (not like he was going to sleep anyways), and driven all the way to Bludhaven.

Because Tim knew what sort of info was on the drive.

And Dick didn’t.

And he was never going to find out if Tim had his way.

Tim softly lifted the flashdrive off the table and pocketed it. He took a moment to retrieve the files on Dick’s computer on the case, which he could’ve hacked, yes, but then Oracle would have noticed, then scolded Bruce about it, who would’ve figured out Tim had some involvement, and, well, that was another issue. Files brought up, Tim sent them to his computer and erased them with a soft click of the mouse.

Mission accomplished.

He powered off the computer and started towards the door, until the sight of the coffee machine caught his gaze. It _was_ getting kind of late. (3 in the morning was less late and more early, but whatever). He still had to manage the drive back....

Oh, what the heck. Why not.

Tim got the coffee ready on auto pilot. He’d been here often enough to know how it all worked. At least, a few years ago. Dick hadn’t gotten a new machine. Dick didn’t really ever change, it seemed. Very rarely did anything his older brother do surprise him. (Except taking away Robin….) After getting Bruce back, they’d come to a sort of tentative truce- Dick toned it down and Tim was a bit more absent, but it worked out ok. He was still mad. Don’t get him wrong. He was seething still, furious. But if this Omega had learned anything from Janet Drake, it was the cold kind of anger that gets pushed down and set aside until one strikes.

Anger didn’t come easy though. Brothers till the end, Dick used to say. He’d had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that that wasn’t in place anymore. So call this what you will- him looking out for the rest of the pack, him holding onto the last pieces of an abandoned relationship. It wasn’t like he had to explain himself.

The machine beeped and Tim flinched at the sudden loud noise. He froze for a moment, waiting to see, to hear, to smell any sort of reaction…. Nothing. He was in the clear. The coffee mug was hot in his hands, but the smell wafting up from it was just right. Closing his eyes in appreciation, Tim lifted the mug up and sipped slowly at the warm liquid coursing-

“Tim? What are you doing here?”

The coffee was spat out in a rush and Tim started coughing.

“Geez, Dick, give me a little warning next time.”

“Oh, sorry.” Tim turned his head to see the older Alpha in pajamas, shuffling awkwardly on the kitchen floor, hair still mussed from sleep. He smelled like Dick always did, that smores and campfire warm smell, tinged with a little confusion and worry. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, fine.”

Tim resumed sipping his coffee.

Dick fidgeted a little more.

Sip.

Rustle.

Ssssssssip.

“So, not to be rude or anything, but it’s three in the morning, and you’re standing in my kitchen drinking coffee? Not that I’m not overjoyed you’re here, ‘cause I never see you anymore, but I can’t see you very well and I can’t tell if you’re bleeding? I mean, if you are, I can help, but you don’t usually come here? Not that I don’t like you being here, I do, but I- I’m going to stop talking now.”

Tim took another drink.

“Good choice.”

“So…… what’s up?”

Tim looked Dick straight in the eye, and said, deadpan, “The ceiling.”

DIck stared at him for a moment.

Tim stared back.

“It…. is?”

“Look up.”

Dick looked up.

“Oh. It is.”

“Yep.”

Dick stood for a moment more, staring at the ceiling, the adrenaline at seeing Tim and immediately preparing for the worst crashing.

“Go back to bed, Dick. I’m fine.”

Dick stood there for a moment more, hesitating, looking anywhere but at Tim. “Will you… be here in the morning?”

The Omega gazed at his brother, emotional walls a bit lower with the darkness. His usual inhibitions had slipped away for the time, a bit more vulnerability showing through, and Dick only looked a little sad, as though already imagining this was a dream. Through the woodfire and toasted marshmallows came the smell of loneliness, of _Please don’t go, please don’t leave me here_. 

Who was he to say no in the face of that?

But Dick shook his head, mumbled a ‘sorry’ and slipped back to his room before he had time to respond.

Gosh dang it, Dick, stop making it so hard to be mad at you.

____________________________

Dick groaned and smacked his lips a few times as his alarm blared on the nightstand. He’d had the weirdest dream last night. Tim had been in his kitchen, drinking coffee, and then had made some really stupid joke, or said something really profound, he didn’t know which, and the he’d asked Tim to stay, but then- Dick didn’t remember, actually, what had happened next. But it was weird. Usually his dreams were more nightmares than anything and involved a lot more screaming and blood.

He wondered what the dream Tim had said to him.

Something profound, huh?

Looks like his subconscious was trying to give him some advice, in the form of his emotional anchor. Except… his subconscious had apparently not gotten that message that these days Tim wanted little to do with him.

_“Let it go, let it go~”_

Dick regretted the day he’d let Jason have access to his phone. It was funny the first time. The second time, not as much. The third time, he’d taken it to Babs, who’d laughed in his face and told him Jason had asked her to.

He could’ve just gotten a new phone, but it was his brother-

“ _It’s funny how some distance makes everything feel small~”_

Never mind. He’d start looking tonight.

Turning it off, he stumbled out and was halfway into his uniform before remembering it was Saturday. Hallelujah. Blessed, blessed Saturday. Today was the day he went and got donuts, to celebrate living through another week. This was one of the few Saturdays he didn’t go up to Gotham to spend time with Damian, because Damain was out somewhere, doing… something with Bruce. Survivalist training? Zoo? Equally likely.

The uniform got taken off again and replaced with a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. They don’t care what you’re wearing at the donut place. Socks? He scanned the room. Single dirty socks littered the area, but the drawer was empty. Crocs it was, then.

He grabbed his wallet, and set off- Dick’s internal danger senses started to blare, and before he knew what he was doing, he’d grabbed the gun from his uniform and was pointing it at the figure in his room. Which was Tim. Tim was sitting on his couch. Working. On his computer. 

Tim was in his apartment.

His Omega brother was in his apartment? Had that dream been real? Or was he still dreaming. But why would he be here? He didn’t look like he was dying, but you never knew with Tim. Or maybe he was in heat and had sought the nearest safe place. Did Dick’s apartment seem safe? But no, he didn’t smell like he was in heat. It was just the usual petrichor, earth-after-rain smell, with a hint of fear mixed in. So what was he afraid of? Maybe there was some attacker chasing after-

“Dick, I know you’re happy to see me, but I’d really appreciate it if you put the gun down.”

Oh.

Oh, shoot.

Dick stared down in horror at his hands pointing a gun straight at his brother. He dropped it like it burned to touch, but his hands still started to shake and he buried them in his pockets.

“Tim, you know I’d never- You startled- I am so, so sorry, I don’t know what I-”

“Dick, calm down. I probably would’ve freaked out too.”

Dick collapsed onto the couch next to Tim, heart still pumping and brain shocked awake too fast. He wanted to hold someone (his brother) but he’d almost just shot his family, and, oh my gosh, he almost shot the only Omega, what was he thinking, Bruce would kill him if he ever learned anything about this, _it was supposed to be an easy Saturday_ -

A thin pair of arms encircled him and tugged him close. Without thinking, Dick grabbed the small body and put in his lap, burying his nose in the raven hair. Raven hair? Oh no, he was hugging Tim, _he’d almost shot Tim-_

“Calm _down_ , Dick.” The scent of rain and earth and blackberries and a hint of sugar, that comforting Omega smell, instantly relaxed his muscles. His breath came a little easier and his heart stopped pumping quite as fast. Wait. Had Tim read his mind? “No, Dick, you were mumbling it out loud. Look, I get it. I startled you, so you did what any of us would do with an intruder, but then you realized what was going on, and now you’re feeling guilty. It’s fine, Dick.”

“Ok. Can I- can I keep hugging you?”

Oh no, bad move Dick, you know Tim, he doesn’t like to be hugged anymore, well he does but he doesn’t like it from you, he’s going to walk out now-

“Of course, I grabbed you first, didn’t I?”

It took a moment for the words to process. Oh yes. Yes, yes yes. No repercussions and he got to hug his brother. Yeah, he’d almost shot him, and he’d deal with that guilt tonight when he couldn’t fall asleep, but he was going to milk this moment for all that it was worth.

His Alpha instincts were still going haywire. They were screaming to protect this little Omega, but the Omega had been hurt by him, so the only one to protect him from was himself? Either way, they seemed appeased as long as he was holding Tim. Who was as small and tiny as ever, and still fit in his lap the same way he did when he was 14. Without thinking, he brushed a scent mark on him.

“So, were you going somewhere?”

“What?” Dick’s voice was rough, husky, on the edge of crying from shock and joy at getting to do this.

“The crocs.”

Crocs? What cro- oh.

“Yeah, I usually head to the doughnut place on Saturdays.”

“Do you… want to go there? Right now? With me? I think we could both use some donuts.”

Dick managed a quiet laugh. “Yeah.” He willed himself to let go of his younger brother. “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me….”

“I get it.”

Tim grabbed his pair of shoes and set to put them on, while Dick tried to get his composure back. Facts, Dick. Tim is in your house. You pointed a gun at him. You freaked out about it. You hugged him. It was the best moment of this past month. Now you’re going to get donuts together. 

The best moment of the past month? Dang, he was lonely. Or maybe it was just Tim, grounding, anchoring, forcing him to admit everything wasn’t actually ok Tim. The kid was so independent- even when Dick had taken it all away from him- that Dick didn’t feel the need to be strong for him. Or force a smile. Be the happy guy. Tim was one of the few who could see past his smile, and get him to talk about what was really going on. Without him…

Tim had his shoes on and was beckoning to him. Which. They were doing something together. Voluntarily. Something _Tim_ had suggested.Dick felt a big grin split open his face, a little too happy for what, seven in the morning, but he didn’t care.Brotherly bonding time, here he comes.

They slid into the car and started out.

“So, what’s up? Why are you in Bludhaven?”

“You did ask me to stay the night.”

“I did?” Wait a second… “I thought that was a dream, to be honest.”

Tim laughed, not the bitter sharpness that was his norm, but a carefree laugh reminiscent of his Robin days. “I’m not surprised. You were pretty out of it.”

“Huh. Hey, did I ever tell you why I go to this place?” Dick asked.

“No, don’t think you have.”

“Well, let me tell you.” Dick began. “I was patrolling one day, you know, and I was on top of this roof, and I see this real shady deal happening between a lady and this other guy. So I stake out for a few nights. And a pattern emerges. Every day, from between two thirty and three, basically random strangers drive up and exchange disproportionate amounts of cash for these boxes. Drugs, obviously. But why boxes, and why the hours? So I grab one of the guys heading back. I open the box, and inside….”

“What?” Tim asked eagerly.

“It's a thing of donuts. I rip them up, looking for the drugs, but there ain’t anything in there.Nor the box. So I grab the guy and start interrogating him. Where’s the drug, dude? And he’s like I have no idea what you’re talking about. So I go, the donuts. What are the donuts for. And he looks really confused, and he says “To eat. I eat donuts.”

A flash of realization lighted up in Tim’s eyes and he started to laugh. Dick shushed him then continued: “I’m confused, so I ask him why he paid so much money. And he tells me “They’re good donuts!” And I’m grasping for straws, but it was so shady, there _must_ be something wrong, he has to be lying, so I ask him why the heck he was out so early. Then this guy, pushed up against a wall, bleeding a little, freaked out, and donut less, looks me dead in the eye and says “Because I wanted them fresh.”

Tim had tears in his eyes and was laughing hard, gasping for breath. 

“I have never felt so stupid.” Dick admitted. “Right, changing the subject, what have you been up to at work?”

Tim started to share a story about the ongoing war between HR and R&D as they pulled into the donut place, grabbed the ‘suspicious’ box, and drove back.When they arrived, Dick opened the box in anticipation of what was always one of the best parts of his week.

  
  


He frowned. There was a…. Card on top?

A small hand reached out and snatched it before he could take a look. 

“Tim? Do you know what that is?”

“Yes.”

A beat. 

“So, what is it?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Normally, Dick would have pushed. But this wasn’t normal, and having Tim here was an experience that required trusting him to deal with whatever was going on. Besides, he really wanted to eat some donuts.

“Don’t forget to check for drugs!”

But first, maybe punch Tim lightly.

_______________________________

Tim opened his laptop in the safety of his apartment. The files he had been working on, straight from the flash drive, were already up. The grim details stared at him, outlining two young gymnasts, a couple, who were found dead in the gym they owned, their equipment tampered with.

It was a little too similar.

It was the Omega’s job to protect the emotions of the Pack.


	3. Cass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave kudos/ comments if you like, every single one makes me smile, and thank you to everyone who pointed out that I accidently posted the last chapter twice, ya'll are great, and here is Cass. (finally, a chapter I like!)
> 
> Also, does anyone else freak out when ordering? Just me? Projecting kind of hard in this chapter

_ Yet another involuntary grin stretched across Dick’s face. As far as easy Saturdays go, this was one of the best ones. He’d forgotten what he was missing out on- Omegas had that sort of calming influence that made you feel like everything was going to be ok. Pack bonds with the Omega were important. And they’d set up a date, for coffee, just the two of them. _

_ But, of course, all good things come to an end, and Dick had to get  _ some _ work done. Now, if he could just find that flashdrive- _

_ A flash of gold on the floor caught his eye. _

_ He bent down and picked up an elaborately decorated card, patterns of gold geometric shapes all over the front and back. Tentatively, he peeked at what was inside. Dick’s Ariabic was rusty (a.k.a nonexistent), but even he could recognise the distinctive letters.  _

_ There were only a few words in English. _

_ For my dearest detective,  _

_ Ra’s Al Ghul _

  
  
  


Cass still felt… uncomfortable here. People were easy to read, as usual. The ticks and twitches, signs on map guiding her to hidden motivations and inner thoughts, never really changed. But the  _ noise _ . A network of words criss crossed above her head, tangling her in their net. Even as she tried to free herself, separate the words meant for her from those meant for others, the words got twisted and  _ then _ she had to figure out which conversations weren’t meant for her but she should listen to anyway. 

It wasn’t that bad. All of that had taken time to get used to, but she understood most of it.

It was the talking back that she struggled with.

“Miss Wayne, can you tell us about your dress today?”

“Cass, do you know where Damian’s jacket is?”

“Miss Cassandra, would you like to join us for dinner?”

Should she nod? Say yes? No? 

Did she have to say more than a few words?

It was that she  _ couldn’t  _ speak, it was that she didn’t  _ want _ to. Words were like grabbing a frying pan from the kitchen instead of a staff from the armory. It worked, but it was an inferior tool. She preferred hugs, smells, touch.

So the most nerve wracking part of her day was standing in line at Subway.

Two people ahead of her. It was your typical Subway, harried new employee, dead inside manager, a lack of raspberry cheesecake cookies, a surplus of oatmeal raisin. Suit and tie, most customers came from W.E. a few blocks away. 

Italian bread, footlong. An Italian B.M.T. Cheese…

The line shuffled forward as the front of the line finished his stupid long order. His insistence on one onion slice and as many pickles they could put in there had raised more than a few eyebrows (But nobody but Cass had seen the way his eyes constantly flickered back to his obviously pregnant wife. Cravings, most likely.) One person ahead of her.

No, before that, she didn’t want it toasted. Cheese, provolone. Nothing else. No lettuce… No Cass! Be adventurous! Try something new! Lettuce it was. No mustard, no mayo. Yes, that’s it. See? It would be just fine.

The person ahead of her stepped away.

“Hello miss. What can I get for you today?”

“A footlong, please. Italian B.M.T.”

“Okay, and your bread?”

Uh, what had she said? “Italian?”

“Ok. Would you like that toasted?”

“No! I mean, yes. I mean, no. Er, maybe. No, that is. Not toasted is fine.”

“Ooookay then. Cheese?”

This was all falling apart. The employee already thought she was having a mental breakdown, she could see him thinking that (and she sort of was). The guy behind her was obviously impatient, from the way he kept fidgeting and checking his phone, and the employee was now growing impatient, and she had yet to speak-.

“Cheese?” She got out.

“Yep. What kind of cheese would you like? We have Provolone, Swiss, Pepper Jack, and American.”

Her eyes nervously swept the counter, not really seeing the cheeses. What was wrong with her? Her father would have punished her by now for her hesitation. That was wrong, and she knew it, but it wasn’t like her to freeze up like this. It only ever seemed to happen in restaurants, too. The employee was now looking at her like she was insane or something, and the guy behind her was obviously snapchatting about her or  _ something _ , and gosh dang it, pick a cheese already.

“Provolone.”

“Great.”

  
  


The employee set about with the meats and cheeses, giving her a brief respite from his questioning.

It wasn’t long enough.

“Ok, would you like anything else on that? Mayo, mustard, olive oil?”

What had she said a minute ago? Did she want that? Mr. Employee, she did not know. Why were you asking this poor girl who is obviously having a nervous breakdown? Clearly, this question was too difficult. The guy behind her was now sighing, and the employee’s smile seemed a bit frozen, they both smelled impatient, and everything was just a little  _ too much _ -

“She’ll just take lettuce, thanks.”

The scent of earth after rain, something like the site of waterfall she’d once visited in Utah, clean and fresh and a welcome relief, drifted towards her. Behind her stood the one and only Timothy Jackson Drake- Wayne, in CEO mode, giving her a small smile. A camera flashed somewhere, paparazzi.

“RIght then.”

The cashier rang up the sandwich while Cass gave her brother a big hug.

“Thank you.” She whispered in his ear, the first words that came easy to her.

“No problem. You want to go eat in the park?”

“Yes.”

"Great! It's good to see you. Unfortunately, though, we've got to ditch the cameras."

Cameras?

Tim subtly tilted his head toward the flashing camera.

Ah. 

Tim paid for her food, then the two of them walked out the door. He gave her a sharp smile.

"Go time."

Tim held out a hand and caught a cab. He leaned forward, no doubt whispering a price, then they were off. Speeding through alleyways, side streets, hurtling through traffic. Tim had his eyes closed the whole way, enjoying the rush. Cass giggled a little. Her brother, the closet speed demon.

The cab screeched to a stop at a sidewalk a few streets away from the park. Cass got out, almost laughing at the look of disappointment on Tim's face when the cab drove away. 

"Need for speed?" She joked.

Tim opened his mouth to reply, but cursed instead. Another camera. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into some random shop.

Which happened to be a store specializing in pillows and blankets.

Cass squealed and ran over to check the shelves while Tim groaned. "Why universe? What have I done to deserve this?"

"Tim. Feel." She unceremoniously shoved a blanket into his hands, nearly making him spill the drink from Subway. He rubbed it anyways, giving an appreciative smile. "Tim.  _ Tassels. _ "

"I'm never getting you out of here, am I?"

"Nope!"

She skipped off, leaving him holding the blanket, the sandwich bag,  _ and _ the drink.

Scanning the shelves as she walked, she reflected in the twitches she'd seen. Too much caffeine. Insomniac that he was, sleep was still necessary. And it was the Pack's job to make sure the Omega stayed alive. She loved him but- there it was.

She scurried back to where Tim was still standing, baffled. She shoved the blanket she had gotten on top of the one he was already holding. They were identical in every respect but color- one was an electric blue, the other a cotton candy, disney princess, 5-year old girl pink.

"There! Matching." Cass said brightly. 

"Ok?"

"One for me. For… for warmed?"

"Warmth."

"Yes. Other for you. For  _ sleep _ ."

Tim chuckled. "Ok, ok, I get the hint. I'll take a nap today. "

They paid for the blankets and Cass took the bag. Then they started off for the park, Tim chatting away about some war that HR was having with accounting, and how he was having to ban paper airplanes because of it. Cass only had to respond with a laugh or a smile or a little nod. It was easy to be with Tim. He made it easy. When she needed to switch to ASL, he switched. When she couldn’t talk, he filled the silence. And when she felt like using words, he could fill in for the words that she did not know.

Suddenly, she grabbed his hand. Four squeezes.

_ Danger. _

“So, did I ever tell you about the time Lucius thought it would up morale if he wore a unicorn tail to work?”

On 'tail' he squeezed her hand.

_ Someone following? _

She squeezed back.

_ Yes. _

“It was hilarious. The press got the wrong idea, and thought we were making some statement about hunting or something. Absolute train wreck. Totally worth it though to see Lucius running around the office occasionally saying ‘neigh’.”

Squeeze on running.

Two back.

_ Not yet. _

“Hey look, there’s the park! Think I’ll get my lunch from the chili dog vendor though, he’s a couple blocks down. You know, the one Jason talks on and on-”

A hand darted out from the crowd. In slow motion, Cass dropped the bag of blankets she was holding and moved to strike, but Tim squeezed twice as fast as he could.

_ Not yet. _

The hand slipped something into Tim’s pocket, and then time sped up again to just the two of them, walking alone on a busy sidewalk, this time without a tail. Cass scooped up the blankets. She gave them a few moments to move away, out of earshot, but she knew no one was listening to their conversation anymore.

“Who…?” She tilted her head.

Tim filled in the blanks. “Don’t worry about it. Nothing harmful. Come on, I’m starving."

Cass frowned. Whoever it was had been good. Not good enough that they hadn’t been seen, of course, but good enough that she had only caught a glimpse of the person. She had been a little off guard too, which had something to do with it. Still, those sort of people weren’t harmless.

She tugged Tim over to the park (him protesting about his chili dogs all the way) and sat them down on a bench. One half of the sandwich went to her, and one half to him. He looked a little bewildered at this sudden offering, but took a bite.

Distracted. Now!

She leaned in close and rubbed her cheek against his collarbone, ignoring his sudden coughing noise. The scent mark brushed there near yelled _ Mine, brother, If you touch him I will come after you _ . 

Tim spluttered. “What the heck Cass?”

It wasn’t that scent marks were inappropriate in public, but they were certainly intimate. Family and mates only. Cass didn’t particularly care about social rules.

Tim sniffed at the mark and Cass sent him a big grin. “Big sister will protect you. No tails now.”

Her brother groaned. “You know, technically, my adoption date is after yours. I’m the big brother.”

“No. Not age. Size.” She waved a hand at him. “Small.”

Tim lightly socked her in the arm. “See? This is why I didn’t miss you.”

“Liar.”

“Yeah.” His mouth quirked up a little,  _ sadness, I wish you were staying _ . “So, why are you in Gotham?” 

Using her broken words and hands, she told the story: A smuggling ring. They had ties to Gotham, so she’d come over to find additional evidence, but she was only in town for a few days, just to follow their next shipment.

“And for you.”

“Me?”

“Need to….” she frowned. What was the word? Dick liked it.

“Talk?”

“No. Touch? Cuddle.” Tim’s eyes widened. “Cuddle the Omega.”

She grabbed him around the middle and pulled him close, nuzzling his hair, soaking him in. TIm attempted to escape, but this was Cassandra Wayne. No one escapes from her hugs. Dick’s hugs were frequent, but with a good enough excuse you could leave. Not her.

A sigh came from where Tim's head was leaning on her shoulder. "So, which blanket is mine?"

Cass smiled gleefully. "Pink."

"Go figure."

_____________________________________

Tim fiddled with his phone, remotely hacking into Cassandra’s phone. Sure, Oracle had designed the firewalls, but all he needed was a few hours. He’d figured out Batman’s and Robin’s identities when he was nine.  _ Beat that Barbara _ (ok, so maybe she’d left him a back door). He dragged the new app he’d downloaded remotely onto her home screen.

Subway ordering.

No talking, just forms.

All prepaid for with Tim’s cash.

It was the Omega’s job to protect the emotions of the Pack.


	4. Damian

_ Cass reached into the bag and rubbed the blanket against her face again, only a block or two away from the park. It was so  _ soft _. It reminded her of being inside Tim’s nest, where everything was soft and comfy and as inviting as possible. Every chance she got, she spent in that nest. That was probably where the pink blanket was heading. _

_ A movement caught her eye. _

_ Unthinking, she sprinted after it, and light as a cat, followed the black shape through the alleyways. The shadows hugged her figure, making her unseeable. Despite this, the figure still flitted in and out of sight, also keeping to the darker corners. _

_ When the figure finally was forced to cross under a light, she sucked in a breath. They were dressed the same way the tail from earlier had been- but now she could tell there was clearly several blades concealed on their person. The person had stopped to reach up to a comm in their ear, but the first words out of their mouth was more than enough for Cass to jump down and deck the person out cold with a kick. She narrowed her eyes at the figure, then sent a picture to Bruce, and zip tied them up. The only crime she knew they’d done was stalking- but that was what she  _ knew  _ of, and she was certain there was more than that. _

_ Her plans had been to fly back out to Hong Kong, but she could always catch a flight. Talking to Bruce was more important. He knew how to solve these sorts of things. But that didn’t stop her from worrying, even as she hopped on her bike and weaved in and out through traffic, one question in her mind: _ _  
  
_

_ Why was one of Ra’s Al Ghul's personal elite assassins following Tim? _

  
  


Damian growled, barely restraining himself from throwing his phone across the room. He couldn’t stop himself, however, from kicking his chair over. The one time he had a free schedule, the  _ one time _ , Jon was busy. With what, you ask? With a broken leg. 

That’s right. A Super had a broken leg. 

Well, actually, he didn’t, but everyone  _ thought _ he had a broken leg. Getting your leg smashed by a falling piece of concrete from one of Superman’s fights was an injury a normal person could not simply walk off. (Also, if you thought Gotham insurance plans were bad, you should see Metropolis’s. Actually, no, Gotham insurance plans were more ridiculous.) So Jon was confined at home and had to wear a cast.

Damain had been planning to meet up with the pup for months, quite literally. They were going to go to the local zoo, meet the new lion cubs. Damian and Jon had both entered the contest to see what they were named (Jon had submitted ‘Snowball’) and Damian’s name, George, had been given to one of the cubs.

But no. It was not to be.

His door creaked open slightly, and Drake peeked inside. His earthy rainy smell drifted in through the crack. It was like woods, fresh and new and everything Damian was not. Others had described him as if a desert was concentrated into a scent- sunscreen and salt and dusty. The contrast never failed to annoy him. Drake raised an eyebrow at the room that Damian had been trashing for the past few minutes and earned a scowl in return.

“Uhhhh . . . I thought I heard a crash?’

“None of your business, Drake. Besides, if there was a problem, you couldn’t help me with it, Weak Omega.”

One of Drake’s eyes twitched, and Damian allowed himself a satisfied internal smile.It fell quickly enough, though, when he remembered his failed plans for the day.

“I don’t know, maybe. What happened?”

Damian's eyes narrowed. What was the pathetic fool doing? “None of your business.”

“Hey, wasn’t today the day you were going out with Jon?”

Oh. Ohhhh. Damian felt his whole body tense, anger and rage and pure  _ fury  _ coursing through his veins. Red filled his vision, and he  _ sprang _ . 

He leaped through the air, drawing a knife that had been concealed as of yet, and aimed it straight at Drake’s chest. At the last second, Drake turned his body, causing Damian to fly past and land in a crouch in the hallway. He turned immediately to throw the knife at the older boy, but the Omega had already retreated into the depths of the hall. 

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m leaving now, ok?”

Damian snarled again, ready to leap again, but by that point, Drake had already left. He held the knife in a loose grip, waiting for the man to come back. But he didn’t.

Why was he disappointed at that?

The anger drained out of his system, only leaving the memory of an irrational red behind. The release left him exhausted. He flopped onto his bed, simply dead tired. 

It’d been months since he’d made any sort of attempt, joking or not, on Drake’s life. Dick and Bruce had sat him down, and explained normal pack dynamics. Then they had made it very very clear it was difficult to take his side in an argument if he was going to launch a physical attack against the Pack Omega. Biology was fickle and couldn’t be reasoned with.

Then they’d, for the first time, took him into one of Drake’s nests while he was in heat (he was sleeping, of course) and shoved him inside. It was like… nothing he had ever experienced. Maybe it was pheromones, mere biology, (or maybe it was being with his family, his pack), but something about it caused Damian to relax like… well, like never before. His constant state of hypervigilance disappeared for once, his tense frame lost its rigidness, and he near melted into Dick.

From then on, Damian had snuck into Drake’s nests whenever he could.

In his own grudging way, he’d come to realize why the others obsessed over protecting weak, pathetic, Drake. 

So the attempts to kill had stopped. That didn’t mean attempts to maim, but (as Dick said), baby steps.

Looking back, maybe, just maybe, his reaction had been over the top. Perhaps pulling out a knife was not a great decision. Drake’s actions had not warranted that kind of justice. Indeed, some could call his checking up kind.

_ Bleep! _

His phone.

_________________________

Tim slowly slid down the wall, trying not to cry. The Al Ghuls really seemed to have it out for him this week. He had believed he and Damian had been getting better. The pup had started to sneak into his nests when he thought Tim was asleep (Jokes on you, Damian! Tim has chronic insomnia! Sleep is a concept!). Progress was being made. At least, it seemed that way. But pulling out a knife-

Was unusual. Damian was angry, and not at him.

The detective in him kicked into gear. Whatever it was, it began before he entered the room, but he’d only inflamed it when he’d talked about- Jon. Of course. The thing with Jon. Damian had rearranged schedules for weeks, been extra careful the past few days not to sustain injuries on patrol, and had actually skipped going out the night before in favor of getting sleep.

It was Damian’s first real ‘playdate’. Yes, he was too old for those, but he was like,10, 12, 8? Who knows. It works.

And for some reason, it was no longer happening.

Staying in the hallway any longer was only bound to end with someone stumbling on him. And then whoever did would be mad at Damian for making the Omega so distressed- look, it had been a long week, it really wasn’t all Damian’s fault. Either way, he could not deal with that right now, so time to move his base of operations. Tim retrieved his phone from his room and texted Kon. It didn’t take long to get a response.

Huh.

Apparently, the kid had ‘broken’ his leg.

Time to fix this.

Woah, what? Hold up there, Tim. Bad idea. Except- the pup was going to be mad the rest of the day. The week. The  _ month _ .

And this was Tim’s responsibility, on some deep biological level that was urging him to help.

Stupid biology.

He could call Dick? But Damian wouldn’t like that. Sure, he loved Dick, but right now, all Damian wanted was to hang out with Jon. So he had to make that come about somehow. The issue was Jon couldn’t ‘walk’ because of his cast, so if people saw him walking at the zoo, that could compromise his identity.

So the issue wasn’t the cast, but rather the people.

Dang it, that sounded similar to a Thanos like statement. Who, to be honest, had some good ideas. Just, with all that power,he should’ve given all planets the resources they needed to survive, and then slow down fertility in each generation, slowly cutting down on the people in each age, until each planet had enough resources and wasn’t becoming overpopulated? Really, it wasn’t hard. That’s what Tim would have done.

Now probably wasn’t the time for Marvel theories though. (But if Tim was on the subject, he felt like Peter Parker and he would’ve been really great friends. Er, anyway…)

First off-

“Hey, is this Mr. Sihg? Yes, this is Timothy Drake. I was wondering if I could cash in my V.I.P. status...”

He quickly explained the situation, changing a few details, of course. It wasn’t long till the man on the other end, motivated by the promise of a large donation (even the zoos in Gotham were corrupt) agreed to his plan.

Now, onto his other victim.

“Heeyyyyyy Kon. Can I cash in a favor?”

The guy on the other end simply sighed.

______________________________________

_ Hey Damian _

_ Kon said your dad got the zoo cleared of everyone? _

_ So stoked. _

_ Can’t wait. _

Damian’s face involuntarily split into a small smile. The facial expression continued to be unfamiliar, but no one was here to see him. The smile only lasted a few seconds though, until Damian processed exactly what the series of texts said.

It did not make sense. Father did not know of his situation. He was currently down in the Cave, discussing something serious with Cain and Richard. Richard’s tone had been apologetic, but he had been asked to leave. The words still rankled him, but he had left anyway. As he had exited, he thought he heard Todd’s voice on speaker, but that couldn’t be right. The only people Todd talked to at the Manor were Drake and Pennyworth. Whatever that was about, it couldn’t be that important if Damian wasn’t invited.

(Or maybe they just didn’t want him there.)

Not dwelling on that. Back to theories. Maybe Father had listened to his few admitances of the day’s events and arranged for this. Maybe this was his way of apologizing for his meeting with his other siblings? Or perhaps this was Richard’s doing. It felt like something Richard would do. It could even be the work of Todd, trying to get back at Father by using his money in ridiculous ways, and decided Damian would be the benefactor. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Nevertheless, Damian was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He was not paranoid like his siblings.

Pennyworth could drive him. He grabbed his prepacked knapsack, and was out the door before he could second guess himself.

  
  
  


_________________________________

Tim watched through the security cameras and smiled. Looked like it had turned out ok. Jon had his arm slung round Damian’s shoulders and was skipping along the big cats path. Damian had a scowl on his face but was clearly fighting a smile.

He had a sketchbook in his hands- there were quite a few sketches of animals in there. A few were labeled with the names of pack members. Gifts, perhaps? None with his name, of course.

He sighed and closed the laptop. There. Damian wouldn’t be mad, which would make everyone a lot happier, which meant his stupid instincts were appeased.

It was the Omega’s job to protect the emotions of the Pack.

Suddenly, he froze at the flash of black in the corner of his eye. No. No, not again. He wasn’t-


	5. Bruce

_ Damian flipped through his sketchbook, touching up details here and there. Pennyworth had retired to the car and was waiting for him there, but Damian had wanted to get a few last details in before they left. The sketch of the elephant was likely to become Richard’s birthday present. Perfection was necessary (even if Richard would be just as happy with a macaroni necklace). _

_ His phone rang. Jon? No, Jon preferred to text. _

_ Pulling out the device, he took a quick look at the caller I.D. _

_ Richard. _

_ “Damian, have you seen Alfred or Tim?” _

_ Of course this was about Drake. _

_ “Pennyworth is with me. I do not know of Drake’s whereabouts, but hopefully he has left the country as to not disgrace us with his presence.” _

_ “Damian, I’m serious, this is important. We have some questions to ask him.” _

_ Had something… happened to the Pack Omega? A niggling feeling started wriggling in his chest. The little remnants of his pup nature, the ones Richard had nurtured, started to shake a bit. _

_ “Tt. If you must know, I last saw Drake a few hours ago. What has happened.” Damian said forcefully, with a note of what some would call worry. _

_ “Where?” _

_ “The Manor.” _

_ “He’s not there anymore. His tracker is offline, he’s not answering his phone, and we thought Alfred and you might’ve also… well, it’s good to hear that you’re both ok. Look, don’t worry too much. Tim’s probably wedged himself into some crack and fallen asleep or lost track of time. “ _

_ “I’m not worried.” Damian said, as uncaring as he could make his tone. _

_ “Sure. Sure you’re not. No biology affecting it or nothing. Hey, could you head back to the Manor? Just for my peace of mind.” _

_ “Tt. I will arrive promptly.” _

It had been one of those days, a Gotham special, where it looked like for once there was to be little crime and work, but by the end of the day everything had gone up in flames.

But that was later. 

Right now, Bruce was still staring at the photo and text Jason had sent him, procrastinating on a puzzling case. The puzzling case being all of his cases were closed. At least, the most urgent ones. He hadn’t done them, so who had? He’d only mentioned how tricky his recent ones were. He’d said that to Alfred, coupled with his explanation as to why he wasn’t getting much sleep. Alfred wasn’t capable of solving them- so who was? His kids were plenty capable, but none of them had the access, motivation, or knowledge of the situation to do such a thing. Speaking of his kids-

Harassing? As far as Bruce could tell, the last girlfriend Tim had was Stephanie. But he didn’t really keep up with Tim’s love life. He should. It was his responsibility, after all, as Pack Alpha. Supervising relationships, especially for Omegas. However, that kind of thinking was slowly being frowned upon in modern society.

Still, maybe he needed to ask a few pointed questions on this subject

The roar of a motorcycle interrupted his thoughts. Dick streaked into the Cave on his bike, throwing up dust in his wake. When he hopped down and pulled his helmet off, his face was set in worried lines. His scent,  _ Stressed, Concerned, confused, I need help, protective,  _ accompanied by toasted marshmallows and smoke, wafted towards the older Alpha. As he caught sight of Bruce, he strode over quickly, anxiety clearly visible in every step. Something was clearly wrong.

“Bruce!”

“Dick.” Bruce returned. As he got closer, the Alpha’s scent only got even stronger. Dick hadn’t been a pup in years- but Bruce could feel his protective instincts twitching.  _ Stupid. Push it down. _

“I,”-The man gestured helplessly- “Tim.”

“Tim?”  _ Again? _

Wordlessly, the younger pulled out a white card from his pocket and handed it to him. Immediately, the golden designs on the front registered in Bruce’s brain. Middle Eastern influence. It didn’t seem harmful, and Dick had touched it, so no poison. Perhaps Tim had written it?

But opening the card up-

Sick.

Tim was seventeen years old.

It was creepy on many, many levels. All of his children were good looking, and he knew they’d all had to deal with other people checking them out, but this bordered on- no, it was stalker behaviour. The innuendos alone. No wonder Dick was freaking out a bit. 

Ra’s.  _ He was going to teach that man what- _

“So, what does it say?”

“Nothing I want you to ever see.” Bruce said brusquely, folding up the card into tiny squares and shredding it systematically.  _ Pain, breaking a bone- _

“What do you- Bruce, you ok?”

“Fine.” Bruce growled.  _ His little Omega- _

“Yeah, you don’t sound fine. Or smell fine, for that matter. You good?”   
  


Red was starting to creep in around the edges of his vision, and his Alpha instincts were off the charts. They hadn’t been this bad since, well, since Tim had found him in the desert after his trip through time. Research had shown Head Alphas who were away from their packs for long periods of time tended to be extra protective when they got back. Extra protection was putting it lightly (he’d gone into a rut).

Shoot. He was going into rut again. Taking several deep breaths, he regulated his breathing cycle into one that at least made him appear calm. The note- well,  _ don’t think about it, you know you’re going to do something you regret otherwise _ , all it meant was that the time to ask Tim some very pointed questions was now rather than later. Like, for instance, how long has Ra’s Al Ghul been sending you letters that contain extremely detailed descriptions of your apartment? The nest? What you wore the other day? What you had for breakfast (Detective, I think a cheese stick, granola bar, and two ounces of water is rather an unhealthy choice if that is the only thing you eat all day)? It was all very specific and very unnerving. 

Dick placed his arm on Bruce’s shoulders, grounding him. “Never mind, I don’t need to know what’s in there.”

“How did you get this?” Bruce asked.

Dick hesitated. “Tim stayed the night at my place.” Bruce blinked. He thought- well, Bruce had long ago stopped trying to understand the interpersonal relationships between his children. “That was in some donuts we got. He grabbed it before I could get a good look, but he accidently left it at my apartment.”

“It could be worse, but if you could get Tim, I need to ask him some questions.”

“Sure-”

Another bike roared into the cave. Cass, his only daughter, hopped off, eyes trained on him. They darted only for a second to take in Dick, and the card.

“Ra’s?”

He narrowed his eyes at that assumption, but it was Dick who answered. “Yes, why?’

“Saw assassin. Tailing Tim.” She answered shortly, grabbing a bag from the back of her bike.

Dick’s brow furrowed. “Tailing? There was an assassin, a League assassin following Tim? Like hired to take a hit out on him?”

“Not… Not hurt.Just watching.”

Both children looked to him for guidance. Unfortunately, Bruce would like some guidance for himself as well. Facts, Bruce. Review the facts. Ra’s, or the League in general, was watching Tim extremely closely. They must be planning something. So, solutions? “I’m going to ask him to come to the Manor.” Bruce announced. “Dick, do you want- actually, can you keep Damian from coming down here? I’ll give you a summary of the card when you get back. By the way, thank you for bringing me that.”

Dick nodded, looking pleased by the compliment, and strode over to the stairs. Cass watched him go, then got out an explanation of what she’d seen with Tim. Not good. Not good at all. Having people stalk Tim was not- not ok. Bruce often repressed his Alpha side, but some biology couldn’t be ignored. The inexplicable need to hold, make sure his son was ok, couldn’t be set aside. Of course, Tim wasn’t here, so Bruce grabbed Cass instead and brushed a scent mark. His daughter rubbed her head on his collarbone in response, a comforting gesture.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Tim’s office.

“Hi, this is Bruce Wayne, is Tim in?”

“Mr.Wayne.” Tam Fox’s dry voice filtered through the speakers. “In, yes. Awake, unfortunately. Going insane? Currently, yes. I’ll connect you.”

The phone clicked. Tim’s particular cadence came over, sending a wave of relief through Bruce. “Bruce, what’s up? What’s the problem?”

“Tam mentioned you were going insane?”

“Oh, it’s just this full out war between HR and Accounting. They’ve started stealing all the coffee creamers from the break rooms. I’m not even sure why this is all going on. I’ve had to literally make a white flag out of toilet paper in order to be granted access to the offices. At least it makes life interesting. Anyway, not to sound rude or anything, but why are you calling?” He asked.

“Could you come to the Manor for tonight?”   
  
There was a pause. “Uh, sure. I guess I could. Is there a reason for that?”   
  


“I’ll tell you when you get here.”

He hung up. Cass looked up at him with big eyes,and clearly and explicitly stated “Coward.”

“I don’t want him to be defensive about it.”

Cass merely broadcasted through scent how utterly unconvinced she was of his statement. It wasn’t like Bruce was scared of telling Tim his concerns….. It wasn’t like they hadn’t been talking much… Or he felt a little overprotective…. Or that he almost didn’t even want to know what was up….

Nevermind.

He was a coward.

Dick skipped back down the steps, a bright grin on his face. “Okay, that’s taken care of! Think Damian’s going to be mad at me for a few days, but that’s nothing new. Tim on his way?”

“Yes. I think the best course of action now would be to put into place those protection plans we have in place for this sort of situation. I know this is sudden, but Ra’s has been showing signs of literally stalking him. I don’t want to take any chances.”” His children nodded in agreement. “Now my other concern is, why is Ra’s interested in Tim?”

The response was almost instantaneous. A small frown appeared on Cass’s face, and her scent, normally a compound of some sort of flower and peanut butter (why peanut butter, no one knew) turned angry. Dick looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet. Clearly, he was uncomfortable, and his scent changed to  _ guilty, ashamed, scared _ . The number of tells he was giving off did not alleviate the situation.

“What happened.”

Dick fidgeted a bit more. “Well….”

Cass spoke up. “He worked with League.”   
  


“What?”

Dick took a deep breath. “So, you know how when you went missing in time, I gave Damian Robin and Tim went off to do his own thing and find you, right.” He rushed onwards to escape the inevitable lecture Bruce gave every time he brought it up.  _ We take care of everyone in the Pack _ . “Anyway, um, his own thing apparently involved the League? He, er, he joined up? Ra’s helped him find evidence pointing to you. He hasn’t said a lot to me about it, but I know that’s how he lost his spleen...”   
  
All three collectively shuddered. Talking about that incident was forbidden.  _ Honestly, Bruce, it’s not a big deal, it’s just an organ. _

“He joined the League.” Bruce’s voice was flat.

“Yes?” Dick said.

The older Alpha sank into a chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. The things his kids did. He was getting too old for this. One of these he’d look in the mirror and finally find all of his hair gray.

“Did you know about the…. Er…. interest?”

“No.” Dick still looked guilty, but his gaze was earnest. “I would’ve done something about it if I knew.”

“Yet you didn’t do anything about him joining the League of Assassins? What did you think he was doing off on his own, tanning on the beach?”

Dick’s gaze dropped and Bruce instantly felt like a *******. That was not an appropriate response. Cass nudged him in the side with her sharp elbow, frowning again.

“Sorry, that was uncalled for.” Bruce said finally. 

“No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have let him go. I thought- I thought he’d be fine? Tim’s just so independent. And Damian needed supervision. And, I don’t know. Look, I beat myself up a bunch over this, I don’t need any help doing that.” Dick mumbled.

“You know what’s wrong now, you can change based on that. Our next move will be to arm the house’s security systems. We can talk to Tim after dinner, ok?” He sighed, and spun around in his chair to put everything online. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Dick slink back up the steps and to the Manor proper. Cass crept up behind him, gave him a quick hug, then followed her brother up the stairs.

And then Bruce was alone.

Alone with his thoughts.

Some would call it brooding.

A million different questions were running through his brain lightning fast. Why hadn’t Tim talked to them about this? Why had he worked with Ra’s? How long had this been going on? Did he not trust them to take care of it? To protect him?

Granted, Bruce was aware they were not the best Pack in the world. They certainly didn’t treat their Omega with nearly as much care as other packs might. Independence and all that was great until it became an excuse for their behavior. As a result, Tim no longer lived in the Manor, or at least hadn’t bothered to move back in. Whatever their faults though, not one single member had ever made fun of his dynamic (Talia was an Omega as well, so Damian had learned from an early age Omegas could be terrifying). Outside of the Waynes, Tim got quite a bit of derogatory comments regarding his designation. Many people had been… untoward towards his son. They shut it down the best they could, but Tim had simply learned to deal with it.

Was this just Tim dealing with it?   
  


There were too many unknown factors here. Bruce processed the information he had learned while he opened up all security systems. Eventually, the clock turned six and Bruce stood to go join dinner. If you weren’t there by 6:05, Alfred would start dinner without you.

“Bruce!” Dick appeared out of nowhere, nearly running into the Pack Alpha. Bruce neatly caught him and turned around until they were standing still in the middle of the hallway leading to the dining room. He was breathing hard, and his scent curled around Bruce’s shoulders, heavy with  _ fear _ . “Bruce! Tim’s missing.”

“What?”   
  


“Tim!” Dick replied anxiously. “I checked his room, and he wasn’t there. He’d gotten here, you know, a couple of hours ago. I couldn’t find Alfred either, or Damian. Not sure where Cass ran off too either.”

Bruce’s heart nearly stopped at the thought of Tim and Damian taken, let alone Alfred…. He pushed back the red edging on his vision.

Finally, Bruce responded. “We’re proceeding with emergency protocol 72B. Who’s the last person you saw?”

In reaction to Bruce’s announcement, Dick opened a secret panel in the wall and handed him a knife and kept a gun for himself while answering. “Cass. I saw her in the living room about ten minutes ago, when I first went looking for Damian. Best guess is that she might still be there.”

Bruce nodded and shifted into an attack ready stance. Dick mirrored him, falling behind Bruce and covering his back. If someone tried to sneak from that direction a long range would be best, while the front would be best covered by someone who could take them down even without a weapon. Call it paranoia, but Bruce had long ago built in protocols if there were intruders in the house. In this case, they had to still remain civilian, which is why Dick hadn’t taken off the false bottom  _ inside  _ the secret panel. Despite the fact that if there were still intruders in the house they most certainly would’ve heard them by now, it never hurt to be cautious.

Slowly, they crept towards the living room.The Manor had turned forbidding in the half dim light of twilight. Dust motes shivered in the weak sunlight as the pair padded past. Every corner suddenly held a pretend enemy made of shadows. Each twitch that Dick made vibrated through his body. Grimacing, Bruce released his protective Alpha scent, the one that said  _ I’m here, you’ll be fine, someone has got your back _ . Dick instantly responded in like, and the hallway filled up with Alpha pheromones.

The two edged closer and closer to the archway leading to the living room. Suddenly, Bruce popped around the corner. The space was empty save Cass, curled up on the couch with a blue blanket, staring down at something in the middle of the living room rug.

“Cass, thank goodness, you’re ok.” Dick breathed, abandoning his post at Bruce’s back to run to his sister. He brushed a quick scent mark on her and gave a big hug.

“Cass, have you seen Damian, Alfred, or Tim?” Bruce asked urgently, abandoning his attack ready pose as well,dropping the knife about the same time Dick dropped his gun.

“No?” Her tone was questioning.

“They’re missing.” Dick explained. “None of them are in the house at all. Do you know where they’ve gone?”

“Damian, Alfred, gone.” She gestured at Dick. “Call them. They at...zoo?”

Dick’s entire frame relaxed. “Oh, that’s right. Damian mentioned going to the zoo today with Jon, and Alfred must’ve driven them. I’ll call them real quick, make sure- hang on, what is  _ that _ ?”

His gaze suddenly fixated on the rug as well, and Bruce finally focused his gaze there too. An inconspicuous box rested exactly in the center of the room, brown cardboard otherwise unremarkable other than the clearly written ‘For the Family of Timothy’’. Bruce’s mouth suddenly felt dry, and the red came back for the third time that day. Rather irrationally, he pulled out his phone to check Tim’s tracker, then cursed. Both children refocused their attention on him again.

“Tim’s tracker is off.” Bruce answered in response to their unspoken question. “He might’ve turned it off himself, or…..”

“I’ll call Damian.” Dick declared. He got out his own phone and dialed. When Damian actually answered, the family all breathed a sigh of relief. While Dick and the pup conversed, Bruce crouched down to examine the box. It was a standard issue box, new, taped together as perfectly as a box could be taped together. No labeling except the name written on top. From what Bruce could gather from his handwriting analysis, whoever wrote this was most likely male, strong firm hand, a few distinctive curls at the bottom of some letters that instantly reminded him of Arabic letters.

“Damian’s with Alfred.” Dick announced after he’d hung up. “They’re on their way back to the Manor. He doesn’t know where Tim is.”   
  


Bruce took a deep breath, feeling like he hadn’t had fresh air until now. Those two were safe, the pup and his parental figure, and now there was only one person left.

No one dared move for a few more minutes, adrenaline crashing and reality sinking in. Plans should be made, probably. Right now though, they needed a breather.

Suddenly, Cass announced “Tim is… Not Gone. Not Gone? Taken.”

Everyone’s eyes snapped to Cass. Still wrapped in her blanket, her faint Beta scents had turned angry again. She stared straight into Bruce’s eyes, broadcasting her message as clearly as she could. If Cass had made that sort of proclamation, she wasn’t wrong. Bruce mentally reviewed the facts. Tim was being stalked by Ra’s, but that didn’t necessarily preclude kidnapping. Except… that rose might be tied in as well. And the letter. So Ra’s was… attracted, but maybe not just that, maybe he wanted Tim, the whole of him, that he was  _ courting _ , which meant he might’ve taken Tim for… For….

“Ra’s has taken Tim for a hunt.”

________________________

  
  
  


Tim leaned his head back, panting heavily. The stone was cool and refreshing against his skin, but he didn’t have time to stop. They were coming. His legs felt like he’d run a marathon while being chased by a golem and in shoes filled with concrete…. Which wasn’t that far off the mark, honestly.

He should’ve gotten some sleep last night, but Bruce had those cases, the ones he’d been talking to Alfred about, and he’d decided Bruce’s sleep was a bit more important than his own, and besides everyone knew he was the better detective, he’d get it done faster. So he had. Bruce  _ did _ need his sleep anyways, a grouchy Batman was a broody Batman, and the Pack needed a Head Alpha who was focused on their current affairs.

If only Bruce knew about  _ his _ current affair.

_ Thunk. _

_ Thunk. _

**_Thunk._ **

His breath caught and he forced himself to push off the wall and keep moving.

It was the Omega’s job to protect the emotions of the Pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo just so ya'll know hunts will be explained later, but it's about winning the rights to ummmm wed somebody.  
> also Bruce is trying (key word trying) he's just bad at being a dad.


	6. Alfred

_ “Hey Alfie.” Tim said. He was leaning against the wall in the kitchen, hair as mussed as always, dressed in a sharp suit, clearly having arrived from the office. “How’s it going?” _

_ “Better than in recent days, Master Timothy, now that you have decided to grace me with your presence. You  _ will _ have to tell me what urgent matter has kept you from the Manor for so long.” _

_ Timothy winced. Recently, the young boy had taken to staying at an apartment he’d purchased rather than the Manor. Indeed, if he hadn’t been the Pack Omega, Alfred imagined he would’ve moved out completely. Thankfully, however tense relations were, the boy chose to be there enough that the whole family didn’t go crazy. Without an Omega, the Pack could get petulant and cross. His presence comforted and settled everyone. _

_ “Sorry, I’ve been having some… personal problems that I needed some time to sort out. Should be figured out soon though.” He hesitated. “Actually, that’s why I’m here.” _

_ “And here I was, thinking you simply enjoyed my company.” Alfred said rather reproachfully. However, Timothy’s face fell at that. Ah, this was important. “Though in all truth, Timothy, you know I am always happy to be of service.” _

_ “I- Thanks. That means a lot, Alfie. I, um, I have some stuff going on right now. That’s, er. That’s a bit complicated, but I’ve got under control. I think. But, just in case, in case things don’t turn out the way I hope they do…” He pulled out a slip of paper, a post- it note that looked vaguely like it had been folded into something else before. “Sorry about how crumpled it is. Work has been interesting. One of the guys in the HR department is afraid of cranes, so the entirety of Accounting got together and covered his desk in origami cranes, which was actually kind of cool, but the dude got really freaked out, so I had to go supervise clean up since they won’t listen to anyone but the literal CEO apparently, and this was the first paper I could find… Nevermind, sorry, I’m stalling. Anyway, if things go off course, call this number, ok?” _

_ Alfred took the paper gingerly and slipped into a pocket. “Pray tell, then, Master Timothy, how will I know if ‘things go off course’?” _

_ “Oh, you’ll know.” Timothy said cryptically. _

_ “Perhaps you should give this to Master Bruce as well?” _

_ Timothy sighed, and said “I would if I thought he wouldn’t stop me.” _

_ “If it’s that bad-” _ _  
  
_

_ “It’s really not that bad. Well, it’s sort of bad, but no more than usual. Actually, it’s kind of worse than what we usually do. Er, weelllllll maybe not.  _ Point is,  _ it’s under control. Bruce is just cautious with me ‘cause, well you know. Omega and all that. Anyway, promise me you won't call that number unless the situation deteriorates?” _

_ Timothy’s gaze was earnest, and his scent was nigh pleading. Biological manipulation indeed, but Alfred could feel his resolve crumbling either way. No one could resist an Omega in need. “Of course.” Alfred sighed. “But in return, promise me you’ll be careful.” _

_ Tim gave him a slight smile. “I’ll try?” _

_ “That’s all I can ask for.” _

_ Tim gave him a quick hug, and scented him (a little outside the usual rules for Butler decorum, but Alfred was pretty sure those rules had been thrown out the window the minute he took charge of an eight- year- old). He returned the gesture, and returned to cutting vegetables as Tim slipped out again. _

Fear was a constant in Wayne Manor. It had long ago settled into the cracks and crevices, the nooks and crannies, till the whole of the house was soaked in the overpowering feeling of pure terror.

But showing that fear?   
  


Was another story.

Rarely, if ever, did those lines show in Master Wayne’s face. For a split second, after a kidnapping attempt, they appeared. Sometimes, in the dead of night, when he’d check every child’s room, the furrows would deepen and you could catch the lingering scent of anxiety drifting around the hallways. And there were those days, when Alfred ran coms, when Scarecrow was out, and his charge was hearing the phantom screams of his children around every corner.

Fear was no stranger, but seldom had Alfred seen such pure terror, if only out of the corner of his eyes.

Master Damian had received an invite from his young friend, Young Mister Kent, to go to the zoo, and requested Alfred’s chauffeuring services. They had run off like the young things they were, Jon dragging Damian through the gates, leaving Alfred behind. Judging the two could take care of themselves well enough ( Jon had more power in his pinkie finger than whatever Alfred could offer, and they had a tour guide sworn to secrecy,  _ and _ Damian would throw a fit if he chaperoned the pair), Alfred had left to go get the latest issue of  _ Victoria _ from the library. Somedays, an old man needed to flip through an utterly pointless magazine dedicated to aesthetics. 

The call to come back came a few hours later, well after Alfred had completed the shopping, dry cleaner’s, and various errands he had. He’d stopped by the curb, then waited.

And waited.

And waited, until Damian had finally walked out, talking on his phone.

That had been his first clue.

The young master’s eyes had flashed with worry for half a second as he spoke, tone as uncaring as possible. He turned briefly to glance at Alfred, checking to see if the beta was there (not like he’d been there for at least 20 minutes), then continued on. When he’d finally opened the car door, he’d sat tense and silent against the seat, scent as indistinguishable as ever, before demanding “Pennyworth, get us back to the Manor. Fast.”

That had been his second clue.

“Of course, sir.” Alfred had acquiesced mildly. “Is there a reason for sudden ‘need for speed’?”

Damian hesitated.

That had been his third clue something was terribly wrong. As the old adage went, third time’s the charm, so Alfred did not even bother to wait around for the pup’s answer but rather stepped on the gas pedal. He accelerated fast, Damian letting out a muffled gasp at the sudden momentum.

“Drake has…” Damian had finally begun. “Drake has gone missing.”

“Missing?” That would not cause this kind of response. Loath as he was to admit it, the young masters got kidnapped rather frequently.

Another long pause. “His tracker is offline.”

That was… worrying. If the Pack Omega was missing… It did not bode well for the rest of the pack.

“Richard sounded worried.”

The drive had passed not quickly enough for him. When the Manor’d finally come into view, he’d speedily parked in the garage and made his way to find the rest of the Pack. Damian had run ahead of him, but when Alfred got to where the others were gathered, he’d stopped at the threshold of the doorway.

Carefully, he’d stepped through, and took in the scene in front of him, where everyone was staring suspiciously at the box on the carpet. Master Bruce’s face was screwed up in concentration. Without registering his or Damian’s presence, he’d breathed out, slowly, carefully, “Ra’s has taken Tim for a hunt.”

That flash of fear in his face brought him to the here and now, where Bruce’s scent was still holding the undertone of agitation and unease. If anything, it had only multiplied in the past few hours.

They’d migrated to the Cave over an hour ago. Master Bruce was at the computer, working with Miss Barbara to find the lost Omega. Master Jason had appeared about thirty minutes later, and was pacing in circles talking to a contact he had in the League. Master Dick had taken his remaining siblings and ushered them into a nest Timothy kept up in the Cave. He’d scented them and cuddled them for minutes. As soon as he had released them, all three had promptly fallen asleep. If the circumstances were not as dire as they were, Alfred would’ve gotten out a camera and taken a picture of the Pack all together. Timothy had always been the only one that could bring the whole family together as a cohesive whole (that, and an Arkham breakout). But now, with their Pack Omega missing, adrenaline was high and fear filled every corner. Every single scent only added up with the others to make the situation more terrifying. Having the Omega in danger had them only needing to move, to do something.

Things were looking more and more grim every second. All that had been found was some security footage of two black-robed League ninjas dragging Timothy’s limp body into a car.

And that was it. 

Perhaps, Alfred thought, it was time for desperate measures.

He pulled out the slip of paper, given to him a week ago now, and crossed to wait at Master Bruce’s side. The Alpha was concentrated fiercely on the video feeds, mild concern on his face, which for the Batman, was as good as saying Bruce was scared out of his mind. Then he coughed expectantly. “Master Bruce, there’s something that you need to know.”

The younger man instantly gave him his attention, as did Master Jason and the children in the nest. “What is, Al? Did you find something?”

“Not exactly, but I believe Master Timothy prepared for this eventuality.”

Jason strode over (and wasn’t it a miracle, Jason, here, in the Cave, playing nice?) and barked “Whadya mean, the mother****** ‘prepared’ for this?”

“Language, Master Jason. Master Timothy approached me a week ago, and gave me a phone number to call in ‘case things went wrong’. I’m not sure what that means, he was rather vague on details.” Alfred explained.

Bruce whirled around his chair, the fire in his eyes reigniting. “So that means Tim was aware something like this might happen. This could be nothing more than a deep undercover mission.”

“I dunno.” Jason drawled. “I think the whole ‘Ra’s offering up a dowery for Tim’ thing would contradict that.” 

Everyone in the cave flinched. The box, despite its simple appearance, had contained more money in jewels than the Western world had ever seen. Hundreds of millions of dollars at the very least, and that was an extremely conservative estimate. Gold, diamonds, a bejeweled chess set, and various pieces of jewelry, along with more modern items like land deeds and technology at least ten years ahead of everything mainstream had filled each inch. On top was a note from The Demon Head himself, proclaiming he and Tim’s marriage. Dowries were next to demolished nowadays, and always given by the family of the Omega, but Ra’s had proclaimed his and Timothy’s relationship an unconventional one, with unconventional traditions.

The entire family had been revolted.

“I know, I know.” Bruce said tiredly. “But maybe…. Maybe this is what Tim wants?”

The entire Cave exploded into sound. Jason began yelling, Dick marched over and joined him, while Cass frowned at the whole scene and Barbara shouted to be heard over them all. Scents suddenly became very heady. The whole air was charged with anger.

The commotion was interrupted by Damian rising from his position in the nest, where he’d been clinging to a pillow. He drew a katana from… somewhere (did he keep one in the nest?), raised it above his head, and screamed in a high, shrill voice, “STOP!”

The resounding silence in the Cave was deafening.

Damian threw his katana to the ground and marched over to Master Bruce. “Drake’s intelligence may be questionable, and his skills deplorable, and his habits extremely unhealthy, but-,” -he held up a hand to stop Dick from yelling- “but, Timothy has, and always been, against everything Grandfather stands for. He also would not pursue a relationship with an older man, nor leave us without a note of any kind.”

No one missed the name change. 

“Sorry, you’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Bruce said, then laid a hand on his child for comfort, and then, in a rare display of affection, scented him. “Alfred, could I see that number?”

He handed over the slip of paper, and Bruce entered it into his phone.

“Here goes nothing, I suppose. Oracle, can you record the call? And trace it?”

She made a noise of confirmation, then Bruce called.

It rang once.

Twice.

Three times.

“What the **** Tim, how in the world did ya get out of there? Seduce Ra’s or somethin’? Wouldn’t take much, hot stuff. Just one bat of those blue, blue eyes...” The slightly mechanical voice trailed off suggestively.

Alfred blinked. That was not what he expected.

Bruce opened his mouth to respond, but Jason beat him to it.

He took a step forward and asked, shocked, “Pru? Prudence? Prudence Wood?”

  
  


__________________

  
  


Tim skittered around another corner and stopped in the shadow of the pillar. Not even a second later, they rushed past, near silent but still deadly. Their scents, heady with the hunt, lingered behind them.

He dropped to the dirt, breathing a sigh of relief. They’d figure out what he did soon enough, but it was enough time for him. The plan was almost complete, but his reserves of energy were quickly becoming depleted. He’d finish and follow through, but at what cost? If he didn’t fall due to the strenuous circumstances, it’d be because of the wound on his thigh.

Speaking of which…..

He put a hand on the homemade bandages there, and his fingers came away bloody. Not… not good. 

“Your family is looking for you.” A voice boomed out through the maze. Tim felt his face paling. The sound was far, far too close to his current location. He gripped the pillar and lurched into a standing position “Even the wayward son is aiding in the search.”

Jason was helping? 

“But they won’t come soon enough.”

Huh, Jason was helping. The whole family, even. It was… bittersweet. Nice to know they’d come together for him, but he knew they couldn’t save him in time. His Pack, together, looking for him. Alfred would be pleased. It’d taken Tim years to even get Jason on speaking terms, but working together was really really good. Take some of the weight off of the butler's shoulders.

He limped off, footsteps leading him even deeper into the pathways built by stone walls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason Todd knows Prudence Wood and you can pry that headcannon out of my cold, dead hands.


	7. Jason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations are made. World building explained. Tim's food choices are disgusting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a filler chapter, sorry... 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: THERE ARE MENTIONS OF RAPE IN THIS CHAPTER. THAT IS THE IMPLICIT PROBLEM FROM HERE ON OUT. Pretty much the plot, to be honest. Except not. I'll continue adding warnings for each chapter as it comes. Just being careful guys, ya'lls mental health is important.

_ “Hello, Boy Wonder.” _

_ Jason landed one more punch on his opponent, knocking them out, and turned to face the newcomer. A bald lady, ears pierced multiple times, with guns strapped around her waist. His kind of girl. She smelled Omega, but not in a weak way, but the scary kind of Omega who could tear you to pieces while grinning.  _

_ “What the **** do you want? And I’m not that person anymore.” Jason growled. _

_ “Mmmm, really? ‘Cause you’re certainly a wonder.” She winked at him, and he- he didn’t blush. But she looked tough. And his Alpha side certainly thought she was something. But he wasn’t Robin anymore, nobody could call him that, because Bruce had replaced him- _

_ “Anyway, Talia has something for you.” She said the name with disgust. _

_ “You’re one of Ra’s, aren’t you?” _

_ “And you’re with Talia, otherwise I might….” She trailed off meaningfully, then sashayed off. Jason watched her retreat, then something made him call out. _

_ “What’s your name?” _

_ “Prudence.” She tossed out. “Prudence Wood. But you can call me Pru.” _

  
  


Years later, Jason repeated those same words. “Pru? Prudence? Prudence Wood?”

The voice on the side made a little surprised ‘wooo’. “Jason Todd. Never thought I’d hear from you again. How’re you holding up? Wait, how did you get this number?”

“How do you know Timmy?” He growled, straight into the speaker. “Because if you’ve done anything Pru I  _ will _ beat you up until the word pain has a new definition.”

She chuckled, and Jason could feel the stares of  his  the Pack on his back. It didn’t matter. What mattered right now was Tim. He and Prudence went way back, back to his League days. They didn’t meet up a lot, but she was the primary source of black market liquor on every base. Made an excellent drinking buddy, as well as a gambling buddy, as well as a shooting buddy, as well as…. Well, if you were doing something faintly illegal that had the promise of alcohol, Pru’d probably show up. Great thing about her. If things had been different, if they hadn’t been so alike, if she hadn’t been contracted by the League, if Jason hadn’t been still insane at the time, they might have been best friends. But Pru was also volatile.  _ Which meant she might have Tim. _

“You could try. Timbo, eh? Don’t worry, I haven’t done anything. Well, maybe  _ do _ worry, since things are kinda bad, but it ain’t my fault. Sorta hopin’ it was him callin’, but I’ll take you. Do ya have him with you?” Her tone switched from playful to urgent at the end.

Bruce cut in. “No. What did you mean, ‘how did he get out’? Is Tim in danger?”

“You…. don’t have him with you. ****. Mother***** b******, f***** never knows when he’s in too deep. I told him this was a bad idea. I said so, I said Ra’s is a creep, I said it wasn’t worth it, but noooooo. He never listens to me.”

Jason leaned in, growling, Alpha command evident in his voice. “All we know is that Tim has been taken by Ra’s. Either you helped, or you didn’t. Better figure out which one it is, quick, or you’re going to have all the Bats on your tail.”

“Geez, calm it big guy.” She answered, brash but still instinctively submitting to the challenge. “All  _ I  _ know is that Tim-Tam called me a week or two ago, talking about how Ra’s had increased his interest and this time he wasn’t going to fight him off. Had this mad ditch plan to make sure it’d never happen again. ‘Cept Ra’s moved ahead of schedule. Don’t think Tim was expectin’ it so soon. It’s… not good. Ra’s has got him stuck in a maze for a hunt.”

Oh.

Oh no.

But then it got worse.

Dick let out a long breath, even as everyone ran through the facts. “Again?” He said shakingly. This has… This has happened before?”

“The hunt? No. If you’re talking about Ra’s creepy obsession, well, you guys probably know about that already.”

“We- we didn’t.” Dick said shakily.

“Oooooooohh, is this the brother that kicked him out? You didn’t know?” She sounded a little too gleeful. “Nothing about how Ra’s wants him for his own, as a mate, about the stalking and the detail assigned to watch brother dearest for the past few years, the creepy death threats that always manage to sound like sexual innuendos? None of that, hm? Well then, surprise!”

At that, Jason collapsed into a chair, as did the rest of the Pack. Bruce continued his interrogation of Pru, trying to find out where Tim was. The rest of them were exhausted, too tired by the revelation that Ra’s had been stalking Tim, stalking Tim  _ for a long time _ , to continue.

Which.

What the h*** was up with that?

After all their preaching about the pack, about how Jason was welcome to stay with them, how in the world could they miss this?

“If this has been happening for years, why now?” Bruce asked, pragmatic as ever.

“Oh, Tim just got tired of it all, I think. Figured out a way to get him off his back for good. Or at least, a few months. He was gonna do  _ something _ , I dunno what, so he stopped knocking out all the stalkers and took the gifts and stuff, which Ra’s took as an invitation. But it backfired ‘cause Ra’s moved before Tim was ready.”

They were all silent.

Bruce shoved his emotions into a box, and started on a conversation to narrow down where Tim was and the details of the situation. Jason tried to listen, he really did, but he was simply drained. As was everyone else, it seemed, for Damian was staring off into the distance, face shuttered, while Cass curled in on herself. Alfred had already excused himself, probably to go stress bake. The only good thing coming out of this situation was the cookies.

Dick sighed, after a minute, and shared a meaningful look with Bruce. The younger Alpha tilted his head at the construct in the corner, and the older nodded.  _ I can handle this, go ahead and do whatever you need to _ . “C’mon guys, nest. Just because Tim isn’t here doesn’t mean we don’t need to be together.”

Oh, right. Jason wasn’t around the Cave a lot, but he’d seen it happen a few times (and gotten dragged in as well). Tim had one of his nests down here for the hard nights, the nights when Pack members really needed something soft and comforting. Tim himself rarely visited unless it was just Cass inside (or Jason that one time), but somehow the whole thing still carried his calming scent. It was basically a large pile of blankets, pillows, and a giant stuffed sloth with blankets covering it all, held up by some complex structure of poles and rope. Inside were fairy lights and at least seven chargers (this was  _ Tim _ ’s nest, after all). Sometimes, after really really bad nights, Dick would take everyone and shove them all inside in an attempt to make sure they all got sleep that night, which could be near impossible after hard nights.

Damian dragged his feet, but he made his way inside. Cass had already disappeared. Jason contemplated making a fuss, not moving, but…. He was so tired. It wasn’t worth it. Wasn’t worth the disappointed look on Dick’s face, the sadness on Cass’s, the sheer fight. Right now, Jason could really use a giant sloth.

He ducked through the blanket curtains. Nope. He didn’t want that bright smile on Dick’s face. Jason stood for a second, head ducked (‘cause dang, Replacement was short), then fell on top of Dick. Ignoring the grunt underneath, he wiggled until he was squarely on top of Dick’s face.

“Ah, forgot how comfy Tim’s nest was.” He smirked. “I mean, this pillow in particular, real squishy.”

“Geddof me. Dami, Cass heeeeelp.”

“Todd, your distraction attempts are deplorable.” Damian snarked. But no one moved.

“Jay~” The Alpha whined. “If you wanted a hug you could’ve just said so.” Long arms suddenly snuck up and grabbed him around the middle.

“Nope, definitely not. I’m good, thanks.” 

He pushed Dick's arms and found another place, leaning against the giant sloth. Now that it was over, now that things had been figured out, all his energy and pacing had disappeared. It had all been so sudden, too. One moment he’d been cleaning his guns and watching Supernatural, the next he’d been getting a call. He wasn’t likely to forget that any time soon.

_ “Jason, are you ok?” _

_ The man in question scowled at his phone, already regretting picking it up. He’d thought it was Roy. “Yeah, why do you ask?” _ _  
  
_

_ “Ra’s has taken Tim. For…. for a spouse.” _

That panic had been like nothing else Jason had ever felt, except for, you know, when he died. Somehow, Tim had snuck in and Jason had gotten emotionally attached. It rushed through his brain, into his limbs, and back again to that deep part of him who was Alpha. Which. Which was not good, because the familiar green of the Pit had come creeping around the edges of his vision, but that had been joined by the red of rut. Christmas lights, Jason had thought hysterically at the time.

Tim might’ve held the world record for worst driving, but Jason was pretty sure he’d passed him up for speed on his way to the Cave. He’d burst in, burning questions on his tongue. The answers he got didn’t do much but spawn more questions, and concerns, which in turn led to him calling everyone, anyone, because  his ~~little brother~~ Tim was missing, and  _ did they know where he was _ and then Pru.

Who had been flirting with his bro- the Replacement?   
  


He had enough problems already, he wasn’t going to dwell on that.

Point was, it had all been such a rush, and only now did he have time to process it all. His brother had been taken, taken for a hunt. Hunts. They’d been outlawed years ago. The traditional way Omegas found mates. They were released into a maze, and whatever Alpha or Beta found them first took them on, and became their mate thereafter. However, Jason was willing to bet his second life that the only person who would get Tim was Ra’s.

That was terrifying.

Because, clearly, there was absolutely no consent involved.

So this could become, very easily…

_ He couldn’t even use the word. _

Perhaps, if it had been any other person, he’d be less worried. But this was the little Omega, the one who every instinct in him was screaming to go find, to save. And it looked like they were getting somewhere- but Jason couldn’t stay after that little revelation, couldn’t listen to that conversation. He was supposed to keep Tim safe, but Tim hadn’t been safe in a long time.

“Jay, how do you know her? Who is she?” Dick asked quietly. He’d grabbed a blanket, Damian, and curled up in the corner.

Jason sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I used to know her from the League. Her name’s Prudence Wood, elite marksmen. Or markswoman. F***, I don’t know.”

Damian stirred. “Prudence Wood? She’s one of Grandfather’s elite.”

That did not help matters.

Dick only grabbed Damian tighter in response, and Cass scooted over to Jason and laid her head on him. He was too tired to tell her to move. Besides, she seemed ok, he didn’t have much of a problem with her.

The one he did have a problem was Golden Boy because he WAS STINKING UP THE PLACE WITH HIS ALPHA SCENTS.

“Geez, Dick. tone it down.” He grumbled.

“You’re one to talk.” 

Jason sniffed the air, and sure enough, that was his anger mixing with Dick’s fear, almost overpowering Tim’s subtle Omeganess. He leaned his head back onto the stupid sloth and decided not to press the issue.

Suddenly, Dick said “Thanks. For coming.”

Jason was  _ not  _ responding to that. Instead, he looked for a subject change.

“F*** Dickie. What’re we gonna do?” 

Okay, he never said he was good at subject changes.

“Both of you… Both of you stupid.” Cass announced.

He could get on that train.

“Talk about…” She continued, still curled up at his side. Gosh dang it, did all of his adopted siblings seem to think he was a teddy bear? Jason absolutely could not handle it if Damian hugged him. He eyed the boy suspiciously, but the little demon was clutching Dick pretty tightly. “Talk about Tim. The last thing you did together.”

“That’s a great idea!” Dick said enthusiastically. “I’ll go first. So, um, earlier this week, today actually, I wasn’t… I was having a bit of a hard day. And then Tim showed up, and we got donuts, and I’m pretty sure he stole my hard drive so he could work on one of my cases instead of me.”

“You kept a case on a hard drive?” Jason asked, a bit incredulously. Dick was never that paranoid.

“No, it was a case Bruce gave me.”

“Father hasn’t given you anything except one that needed information from Bludhaven, why would Tim- oh.” Damian broke off.

“What?”

“That particular case was about a couple who owned a private gym, and died because their equipment was tampered with.”   
  


Everyone’s eyes widened at that.

“That’s why Tim was at my place.” Dick realized. “So I wouldn’t have to work on that. Oh gosh Tim. I didn’t know…Um, somebody else go.”

Might as well get it over with.

“He was at my place too.” All three looked at him, and Jason fought the urge to run out. He couldn’t hold a civil conversation with these guys without Tim here. “Stayed the night, after a case. Did you guys know he didn’t finish high school?”

“Drake is a disgrace to the name of Wayne. ” Damian complained, but without any real fire.

“I don’t know, brat, pretty sure I hold that title already.” Jason said.

“No you don’t, Jason,” Dick cut in, “and Tim actually hates school, with a passion. He doesn’t want to go back. Ok, Cass, your turn.” 

Hate school? How could anybody hate school? School held some of Jason’s favorite memories.

“We… we had lunch. And blankets.”

“You ate blankets?” Jason asked incredulously.

Cass giggled. “No. Bought blankets because Tim looked tired. He got me this, too. Didn’t talk, but I knew it was him.”

She pulled out her phone and showed them an app. It was for online ordering for Subways and other restaurants. “I don’t like ordering. Too much…. Pressure?”

“Pressure, yeah.” Dick agreed. “Good word. That was really thoughtful of him. Damian? How about you?”

“I yelled at him.” He said bluntly. “Then I left to go with Jon for the zoo. Thank you for that, by the way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jon said father cleared out the zoo so we could go, because his leg was broken and couldn’t be seen by other people walking, but I knew it was you.”

Instantly, Jason understood. The only friend Damian had must’ve broken his leg, and walking on it would’ve blown his cover, so they couldn’t go, but Dick being the best older brother ever had cleared it out. Or had he? Because Dick was shaking his head.

“We were busy this afternoon, remember? I’m sorry, but I didn’t do anything.”

Everyone looked around confused until a light bulb lit in Jason's brain.

“Did you tell Tim about the cancellation?” He asked Damian.

The kid looked at him strangely, but nodded his head. Then the light bulb for him went off as well.

“He cleared it out.” The kid mumbled. ”For me.”

Dick summed up what they were all thinking. “What did we ever do to deserve him?”

“And what’re we going to do without him?” Jason added roughly, head dropping in his hands. Timmy, with the League. Getting him out would be almost impossible.

At his statement, everybody went quiet, scents of fear and anger lingering in the air. Dick scooted closer to him, until their legs were almost touching, dragging Damian along with him. Jason would’ve fought him off, but he could almost see the warning signs of a rut in the air. Honestly, he was amazed that not a single one of them had done it yet.

Then the blanket curtains parted, and Alfred ducked in.

“There will be no more talk of that, thank you very much. What happens next is that we get Master Timothy back.” He said, voice confident. “And then we make sure this Ra’s Ah Ghul can no longer meddle.”

He walked out almost as quickly as he stepped in.

Okay then. That was that. 

“C’mon Dickhead.” Jason rose up and grabbed Dick’s hand. “Let’s go.”

They all emerged from the Nest refreshed, emotions firmly back behind walls. Bruce was still on the call, while Alfred had set out a plate of fresh cookies. Tim’s favorite cookies, to be exact. The nasty ones that was the driest shortbread Jason had ever seen. But when the kid ate them, he didn’t stop there- no, he dipped them in almond milk. Nasty, nasty.

“Goodbye, Ms. Wood.” Bruce finished. He rubbed his face,then turned to face them, expression unreadable. “I found him. Suit up. We leave in five.”

“How bad is it?”

The blank mask cracked a little, and for a moment, Jason thought he could see a father underneath it. “He’s running out of time. Prudence said he was injured and her League contacts believed he’d only last a few more hours.”

“Suit up everyone. We’ve got to hurry.”

It was the Pack’s job to keep the Omega safe.


	8. Dick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 700 words about parachuting + a special episode of where in the world is Tim?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A LOT of research went into this chapter (military blogs, parachuting videos, a distinct LACK of information of Middle Eastern culture and town structure, there's literally nothing on the internet) so I did my very best to keep things accurate! 
> 
> In this chapter, we're playing spot the Douglas Adams- inspired metaphor. Because I was bored. 
> 
> As always, Comment/kudos!

_ Tap tap tap. _

His fingers beat out a pattern on his leg, restless and troubled. 

_ Tap tap tip tip tap. _

Oh,  _ Tim. _

Things had been getting better. They had! Everyone was on speaking terms, Tim had stayed at his house, at Jason’s house too, everything was, as Jason would say, “hunky- dory”.

_ It had been getting better. _

The words repeated like a mantra through his head, pulsing with the beat of his fingers. Distantly, some part of DIck recognized his feelings weren’t rational. Some worry was necessary, yes, but they were on their way. No one had died yet. There was still time to get the satisfying feeling of punching Ra’s Al Ghul in the face for even looking at his little brother, who was  _ seventeen _ . Closely approaching a panic attack? The situation didn’t warrant it.

The deeper part of Dick, the Alpha bit, didn’t care.

He leaned his head against his seat, wishing the ride would hurry up already. They'd taken the zeta tubes, but the nearest to the location Tim's… girlfriend assassin (she'd called him hot stuff, were they together?) had given them was still quite a few miles off. So they'd taken the batplane. Or the batcopter, in this case, and dang, Dick regretted all of his enthusiastic names as an 11 year old. It had been a mistake, such a mistake (except for the conditioner. Conditioner Gordon was a great name, and he still chuckled to himself every time he took a shower and saw it).

“Ejecting in thirty seconds.” Oracle’s dry voice filtered over the coms. She’d volunteered to fly the plane, since everyone else volunteered to go beat people up. Barbara was going to do anything she could to get Tim back.

Dick adjusted the straps of his parachute one last time, and did a full check through. Everything looked good. Around him, his pack did the same. 

“20 seconds till drop off. Check off.”

“Batman, clear.” 

“Nightwing, clear.”

“Robin, clear.”

“Red Hood, fan- fu*****- tastic.”

“Black Bat clear.”

“10 seconds till drop zone. Good luck boys.” Oracle signed off.

The seconds counted down too fast, and dripped like molasses. Dick rested a hand on Robin’s shoulder for a moment, more for his comfort than Damian’s. They’d all done this before- jumping out of planes was old hat compared to some survival exercises that had comprised Robin- hood. (Robin hood. Heh. Beating up bad rich people at night and giving to the poor during the day, through W.E.)

The doors opened and Batman, already unstrapped from his seat like everyone else, crouched and made his way directly to the open window of sky

“Batman, pushing off.” Then he fell forward.

Red Hood and Black Bat were fast behind, less than a second later. They repeated their own goodbyes and fell forward. They were indeed goodbyes, because parachuting was extremely dangerous. No one took this lightly.

Even as Batman had gotten up, both he and Robin had stood. His muscles were tense and shaking- from nerves or adrenaline, he couldn’t tell. Every step towards the doors was always heavy, no matter how many jumps he’d taken. Time slowed. The air felt thick with that indefinable quality that always came with high- stakes missions, choking and unrelenting.

“Robin, pushing off.”

Then it was just Dick. He let muscle memory carry him past the fear, and into the pure joy as he  _ fell _ .

The air rushed past, reminiscent of trapeze and bars. No net, but it only heightened the risk and therefore the excitement. His hair whipped back, feeling a bit like it’d be torn off. He’d gone without a helmet. The domino had all the filters he needed, and a helmet would throw him off. Right now he needed to be at his peak- and he was, here in the sky, no ground in sight.

Nothing could prepare you for this.

This  _ joy _ .

Dick Grayson had never been happier than he was in the empty black of the night sky.

But, like all good things, it had to end. Mourning a bit, as he reached the appropriate altitude, he released the parachute. It snapped open above, jerking both his body and brain- one from the straps digging in, the other from the bliss, returning him to the gravity of the situation. Ok, he was a bit of an adrenaline junkie. But in this business, who wasn’t?   
  


Below him, his Pack had opened their own parachutes, barely indistinguishable from the sky due to the dark gray cloth of their parachutes. They circled into the drop point- a spot normally used by the assassin base as a training ground, a flat top encircled only by desert bushes.

He drifted down, the ground rushing closer and closer with every passing second, like the mouth of some creature rising from the deeps. Grabbing his risers, he bent his knees slightly. Closer. Closer.  _ Closer. _

Snap. He was stumbling.

Snap. His legs had given up the fight.

Snap. The rest of his body agreed, and found a comfy spot on the ground.

Snap. All the breath left his body.

Snap. Mental check over, make sure nothing was broken.

All good.  _ Now  _ he could.

“Hey guys.” He wheezed. “What’s the hardest part of skydiving?”

Nobody answered. 

“The ground!” He cracked himself up, letting out winded giggles like a 7th- grader who’d just gotten knocked out by their crush. 

Groans came from all over. “Freaking creep.” Red Hood said, from somewhere to his right. “That is  _ not  _ the appropriate response to just jumping out of a plane.”   
  


Batman sighed from elsewhere. “Alright everyone, role call.”

As everyone shouted their names, Nightwing found the energy to struggle up into a seating position, still panting.  _ What a rush _ . He called his name as well, when the time came, and set to gathering up his parachute. They would end up leaving them out here, for ease of travel, so Dick detached his pack and undid all his straps.

Free from the incumbent, he could finally see where the rest of the pack landed, scattered across the ground, dimly lit by the desert light.

“Hey Goldie! Get up! Time to move!” Red Hood whisper- shouted.

“Slow poke.” Black Bat said, equally quietly, poking him in the ribs.

“Where did you learn that phrase?” he asked, finally moving and unstrapping his escrima sticks from his backs.

“Robin.”

The boy in question scowled. “It applies to a large majority of this family. Except you, Father, of course.”

Batman was already waiting for everyone to hurry up. His face was blank and he grunted in response to the addendum. Sometimes, Nightwing wished they didn’t have to use scent blockers on missions. There was literally no other way to guess what Batman was thinking otherwise. “Robin is right. Time to move. Fall in.”

The rest of the pack grouped together, following as Batman led them into the base, Hudayya, which was composed of many crowded together structures made of…. Sandstone? So sue him, Dick was no architect. All he could use were Minecraft terms. 

They split up now, checking out sectors they’d pre decided. Honestly, it should be obvious. A hunt was traditionally conducted in a maze, or the countryside, or a big open space of some kind. Except there was none of that. No guards, so it wasn’t going on in the surrounding desert. No wide streets, no fighting rings. Nothing. Just a maze of buildings…. Could it be the city itself?

But there were still people out, and none of them seemed very alert. Tim could have already been hunted down….. Dick refused to let his mind go there.

At a loss, he returned to the fighting grounds. Red Hood was already there.

“No luck?”

“Nah. I don’t where the f*** they could be keeping him. “

“Me neither.” Nightwing admitted. “It’s almost like this is the wrong location.”

Red Hood shook his head. “Pru wouldn’t lie to me. And even if she would, she’s genuinely concerned about Red Robin. He’s here.”

“I know…. Speaking of that, you know her, but how does Ti- Red Robin know her?”

“Absolutely no idea.”

“Spleen.” Black Bat announced. Both boys jumped at her sudden presence. “Spleen lost, with her.”

“Wait, you mean he lost his spleen because of her?” Nightwing cried.

“No, ‘Wing, she means he knew her at the time, when he lost it.” Red Hood said. “Er, at least I think that’s what you meant, Black Bat.”

“No.” Black Bat said. “With her. They both lost. She lost her… voice? The voice machine.”

“Vocal cords?” Nightwing guessed. “Larynx?”

Black Bat nodded. “Yes. Larn-larynx? That. Red Robin said once he could’ve lost that instead.”

“Oh. Wow. That’s why her voice sounded all weird.” Red Hood realised. He stuck his hands in his pockets due to the chill of the desert night, ignoring the jealous stare of the pocket- less Nightwing. “Don’t suppose you had any more luck than we did, Blackie?”

“Blackie, really?” 

“Hey, you try coming up with nicknames. I could just call her princess, but that’s Red Robin’s nickname. “

“I don’t want to know.” Nightwing mumbled, shaking his head.

“No,” Black Bat finally replied. “There is no….. Not enough… empty? For a hunt. Not empty… Space! Nowhere to go.”

A small, almost imperceptible thud alerted them to the presence of another member. “Black Bat is correct. There were no areas in my sector that a proper hunt could be hosted in.” Robin declared.

Not even seconds later, the Dark Knight himself landed, like a giant albatross swooping on his nest, except this albatross was made of shadows, and had the air of a poacher whose gun is trained upon said albatross from 50 feet away, while also carrying the additional emotional blankness of the albatross’s eggs. 

“Report.”

All of the Pack answered in tandem, negative response all around. Batman frowned slightly. They stood there for a moment, at a loss. Nightwing was confused. The intel was correct, but it didn’t make sense. They’d searched all of the base, all of the wide open spaces, all of the grounds…. The grounds.  _ Of course. _

_ “ _ Guys, what if he’s not on the ground? What if he’s  _ underground _ ?”

Silence.

“Congratulations, Big Bird, you’ve finally had a good idea.” Red Hood snarked. 

Robin nodded. “That would be logical. That would explain the multiple tunnel entrances. Most of Grandfather’s bases have some sort of underground safe space as well. Widening it would take time, but it’s possible. It’s a… good idea.”

Nightwing grinned, grabbed the little pup to ruffle his hair and pulled him into a hug.

“Get off of me, Nightwing.”

“Nope!” The older Alpha chirped. “You gave me a compliment! He’s growing up!”

“Nightwing, we have bigger problems than that to deal with. Specifically, a certain Omega. “

Instantly, he sobered. How could he forget? Gosh, that was what Tim was all about. It was so easy to assume he could handle his own problems, you almost forgot that even had problems. The smile slipped from his face and he released Robin.

Meanwhile, Batman had pulled up a computer, the kind that projected from the gauntlets, the kind that at least seventeen different hero outfits had asked for, and then he’d directed them straight to Tim(he charged three bags of jumbo marshmallows for the tech). It was running a scan belowground. The computer beeped once, showing a large underground cavern.

“Holy sh**, it’s the fu******* Maze Runner.” Red Hood breathed. “And I thought our Cave was big.”

“It is larger than standard size for Grandfather, but I do not know what this ‘Maze Runner’ is.” Robin said.

“You don't know what the Maze Runner is?” Red Hood asked in shock. “Oh you poor, poor deprived child. Don’t worry, I’ll introduce you. When we get Red Robin back, you’ll have plenty of time to read in his nest.”

_ That  _ was a loaded statement. Clearly, Jason was planning on staying at the Manor, and bonding with his other brother. Sometimes, Dick wondered if Tim was better at this family bonding stuff than he was. But…. nah. Tim was more manipulation than bonding, more schemy than pranky.

Robin protested vehemently, as he always did, but Black Bat merely collared him and dragged him back down the path. Silent as shadows, they followed, ghosting towards one of the many tunnel entrances.

“Nightwing, front. Black Bat, back. “ Batman ordered. Moving into formation, they descended into the blackness.

It was some sort of long tunnel, steep, so steep that Robin tripped over his feet once, causing Red Hood to laugh. For a second there, Nightwing thought they might have a case of fratricide on their hands, but Black Bat intervened before anything happened. The corridor was black, so he trailed his hands along the sides in an attempt to steady himself. Honestly, this wasn’t that bad-

“Guys, can we hurry up?” Red Hood said, breathing a bit heavy. Somehow, despite the scent blockers, Nightwing caught a whiff of fear. If it made it past all the blockers, then he must be  _ terrified. _

“What’s up, Hood?” Nightwing murmured, dropping back. Batman took his spot at the front, and the rest allowed them to talk quietly.

“It’s the”- he gestured at the encompassing black, only illuminated by the dim glow stick Damian was carrying- “the space. Woke up in a grave, remember? Little bit claustrophobic.”

“Oh.” Nightwing gasped. “I completely forgo-”

“It’s fine. Long as we get to Timmy, I don’t mind. Just need to leave, and fast.”

After that statement, the whole group picked up the pace a bit. By now, they’d settled into a standard Pack formation- Head Alpha in front, two secondary Alphas flanking him, pup in the middle, and Beta in the back. If Tim had been here, he’d be right next to Robin (if Tim had been here, he’d bitterly complain about it as well as slip away to go off and do his own thing).

Finally, a glimmer of light shone at the end. Red Hood raced ahead, then stopped suddenly. 

“Hood, what is it?” Nightwing called.

“Tt, it is nothing but- oh.” Robin said, reaching the perch as well. 

Black Bat joined them at their perch- Nightwing could see that now. It was a ledge jutting out, stopping suddenly, a set of stairs leading down on one side. She, too, stopped and stared. He and Batman fell into step and reached the perch at the same time.

Batman’s hand landed heavy on his shoulder, to steady himself, or maybe comfort. Either way, Nightwing wasn’t thinking about that. Instead he was looking down, down on the view.

Jason had predicted it, in his own way.

Below them, stretching for miles, till it disappeared on the horizon, was the maze.


	9. Cass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fourth wall break, and we meet up with Tim finally. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: referenced possible rape.
> 
> NOTE: For the purposes of this fic, Tim's attempted rape+whatever other weird sexual stuff in the comics didn't happen. Dick's rape may or may not have happened, if it did, he hasn't told anyone. I'm still a little confused on timelines anyway.
> 
> also, we're playing spot the reference to the Douglas Adams inspired metaphor last chapter. And a fourth wall break. I was tired the day I wrote this. Thanks to everyone who commented last chapter! I promise I read all of them, even if I didn't reply. I'd love if ya'll left kudos/comments, really makes my day!

She stared down at the view. He was in there. Somewhere, among the forest of rock walls, in the twisting corridors, he was wandering. Injured. Her little Omega. All alone, not knowing if anyone was coming. 

She adjusted her pack once more. Her cargo was lightweight, but it still made her pack heavier than everyone else’s. Maybe it had been a mistake bringing it, considering it only seemed to weigh her down.

No. It was worth it.

The Pack was descending down the broken stone steps, chipped and flecked with red specks none of them liked to dwell on, single file. It was a tight fit for all of them. Jason, especially, was nearly tripping over his own feet, and had almost fallen off five times now. Each time, his face got a bit tighter, and he steadfastly ignored everyone who laughed quietly. Now, he hit his foot on a chip and tripped again, barely managing to catch himself on the wall. Dick let out an involuntary snort and Cass giggled a bit.

“Shut up. I can hear you all quietly judging me.” He grumbled.

Cass turned around and bopped him on the nose. “Clumsy.” She giggled.

“If you weren’t so scary, I’d have you in a headlock right now.” The Alpha threatened.

“But you don’t!”

She skipped down the next few steps to join Dick. This Alpha had been uncharacteristically quiet the past few hours, trapped in his own mind. Even Damian had glanced back at him worriedly a few times. 

She wiggled her butt a little, like a cat getting ready to pounce. Jason, behind her, stopped cursing at her, and fell silent. She wiggled again, then leapt, landing directly on DIck’s back, clawing into his shoulders. He nearly doubled over at the impact.

“What the he-” Dick whisper shouted. “Cass? That you?”

“Piggy back ride!” She said cheerily, then kicked him in the sides. “Go!”

“Cass! I nearly fell off! This is serious.”   
  


“Mmmmmmm, lies. I know you want to hold.”

Jason laughed. “I knew it. She’s got you all figured out, Goldie. And without Tim here, no one can stop her reign of terror. There’s no stopping her. She’s just too scary.”

“Yes.” She agreed, still kicking Dick in an attempt to make him go faster. “I will rule.”

“Cass, you have steel toed boots! That hurts! I am a sensitive guy!”

“But you’re big, strong Alpha.” She said, tilting her head inquisitively, laughing on the inside. “Though you would protect? Guess not. I am the powerful one now.”

Dick sputtered a bit, but Jason was now wheezing for breath. Once again, the older Alpha attempted to shuck her off, but she held on like a barnacle clinging to a rock in the middle of a stormy sea, watching an albatross sitting on its eggs getting shot by a poacher miles away. The albatross/poacher/eggs combo being Bruce, who was steadfastly ignoring all of this from his position in the front. The metaphor being a thought that Dick had whispered in her ear a  chapter  few minutes ago. (You’re not supposed to do fourth wall breaks Cass… even if you’re basically the scariest person ever to live).

Damian, after ignoring their bantering steadfastly, joined finally. “I pledge my allegiance, Cassandra.” He said seriously.

Dick howled his betrayal, but Jason twisted around and gave him a high five. “All hail Queen Cass!”

Her ride, otherwise known as her older brother, was still bucking and attempting to get the parasite off his back, but now he had a smile on his face now. Good. Dick’s face was meant for smiles, not sad- mopeyness.

“Boys.” Bruce barked. 

Everyone straightened up, and Cass slid off the Alpha’s back.

“Aw, come on, why do we get yelled at, and not Cass?” Dick whined. “I’m the victim here!”

Bruce sighed, long and hard. “Because your sister is well aware that we’re at the bottom, and is already checking it out.”

“Wha-”

Cass grinned. Bruce wouldn’t have said anything otherwise, since he was so focused on…. Saddening? No. Brooding, that’s it. She’d slipped past her brother fairly easily and joined her dad at the bottom to examine what had stopped him. Tuning out the cries of her family (Betrayal, B! I thought we were family!), she took in the scene- the staircase had finally ended, stopping at a clearing surrounded by an estimated 20 ft. high walls. They were incredibly smooth for something built out of stone. Clearly, lots of work had gone into this.

Other than the slabs, there was one gate. It was similar to those metal detectors Cass had passed through at an airport, but she could clearly see lasers and guns and what might have been an ax in its past life but was now a multi bladed death machine lying in wait to slaughter those who failed to pass the test of the detector.

But it wasn’t detecting metal.

Bruce had obviously reached the same conclusion, as he reached out a hand tentatively and ran it across the side. “Scent.” He murmured. “This detects scent. I’ve seen them before, in Alpha only clubs, or homes for abused Omegas. “

“Take off blockers?” Cass asked, hand poised over the sticky little pad.

Bruce frowned.  _ I don’t like this, but I will. _ Always so concerned with identity. Cass shrugged and ripped it off without his permission.

He frowned deeper at that. “Cass, we don’t know-”

“Ra’s knows. And you were going to say so.” She wriggled her eyebrows at him, daring him to disagree. Predictively, he didn’t.

“Wait, so should we do that too?” Dick asked. He, and the rest of the boys, had finally settled their differences and caught up. 

Bruce pinched his nose. No one else had noticed, but Batman had long ago disintegrated into simply Bruce, worried and exasperated father. Being so close to Tim relaxed him, and the lack of anyone watching was helping to calm him. “Yes.”

Everyone took them off, immediately filling the place with stress and worry. Cass, despite how easy it was for her to pinpoint smells, couldn’t pin their owners.  _ Everyone  _ was stressed.

“What about Cassandra?” Damian asked. “She is a Beta. And I am not an Alpha, either. Yet.”

Dick grinned once, feral and sharp, and started to rub his hands together. “We disguise you.”   
  


Bruce began to explain. “The detector appears to only set off alarms if an Omega enters.”  _ Or leaves.  _ The words hung unspoken in the air. “Cass should be fine, but we’ll have to mask your scent a bit, just in case.”

Damian’s eyes widened in panic as he realized what exactly that meant. Dick appeared behind him, and the pup turned around and began walking backwards at a sprint. His back hit a wall, and then Dick pounced, and began to scent him. 

“So glad that isn’t me.” Jason mumbled and Bruce nodded in agreement.

“Oh, I can do you too if you want.” Dick called mischievously, restraining Damian and rubbing his face all over him, cooing.

“No, no thanks. I’m good.”

“Awwwww.” Finally, the Alpha released the pup. Damian made a face as he sniffed. “You sure?”

“Todd is very sure, Grayson.” Dick flinched at the name change. “No one wants your… enthusiastic affection. We are on a serious mission.”

“Robin is right. We are on a mission. You can map, Nightwing. Losing our way in this maze could be nigh fatal. As of now, I believe no one knows we’re here, but that could all change. Finding a quick exit out will be essential.” Bruce- (no, he was back at Batman) ordered.

Nightwing nodded his head, slipping back into his role as well.

They passed through the detector without incident (other than Hood ruffling Robin’s hair, and narrowly avoiding an early death). Without blockers, it was far easier to tell feelings. Nightwing was  _ guilty, afraid, back to guilty, can I hold someone _ ? Cass slipped her hand in his, and he squeezed back a thank you. Red Hood was  _ angry, furious, rage, but tempered down, set aside for now _ . Everyone gave him a wide berth; they knew that this sort of violation of a designation was exactly what he fought for. 

Robin was harder. He was still covered in Nightwing’s Alpha-ness, but underneath it all, there was some sort of storm going on. Undecided about his own feelings, then.

Batman? Had the best control over scent Cass had come across. So it was telling  _ protective _ and  _ fear _ made it across.

She wasn’t worried though. This was  _ Tim _ . He was strong.

“I don’t understand.” Night- no, back at Dick broke the silence. They’d been wandering the halls for what felt like ages, picking random directions while Dick marked them on his map he was creating. “This must’ve taken ages to create. It’s bigger than many ceremonial hunt spaces used for royalty, even. The walls are polished beyond belief.”

It was Damain who answered. “The League uses only two spaces for hunts. I’ve heard of them in passing. The first is meant as a cover, while high ranking officers use this one. They’re remarkably difficult to track down, not marked on any map, and the spaces are abandoned in between uses to draw attention away.”

Jason nodded. “I think I’ve been to the other one. It’s big, and nice. Exactly what you’d expect from the League. Not this. Both are hundreds of years old, as well.”

“Well,” Dick grinned. “Isn’t that a- maze- ing?”

No one bothered to react, instead electing to shuffle onwards.

“Hey!” Dick pouted. “That was a good joke.”

“No. No it wasn’t.” Jason replied, sounding dead inside..

The conversation devolved into a conversation about what makes a good joke, but Cass kept an ear out. There was… something. Breathing. Breathing heavy. Like an injured animal. And a smell? Desperation. Pain. But it was also trying to muffle its noises.

“Quiet!” She hissed. Shocked, everyone followed her lead. Tilting her head, the noises got a bit louder. Coming closer. Could it be-?

“What is it? Hunting party?” Dick asked.

“Tiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmm!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. Damian made an aborted move to cover her mouth, but it was too late. The damage was done.

They waited in breathless silence to see if anyone would respond to her call, every single member of the party glaring at her.

A far off shout caught their attention. “Cass?”

It was Tim.

It was their Omega.

As one, the Pack relaxed, the tense air becoming lighter, scents turning joyful and  _ he’s alive _ . Dick stumbled into a wall, grounding himself, taking a deep breath. Jason’s shoulders lost their tenseness, as did Damain’s, and Bruce took a second for a long blink before opening his eyes with purpose..

“Tim? Tim, are you okay?” Bruce called.

“B? What are you doing here?”

“We’re here to rescue you, dumb***!” Jason yelled.

“Wait a second, let me see if I can get closer.” The sounds of pounding feet got closer and closer, until it seemed that they were mere feet away. “I can smell you, but I can’t see you.”

“The wall.” Damian realized. He put a hand on the looming behemoth of a barrier. “It separates us.”

Suddenly, what had previously been an innocent slab of stone seemed so much more cruel. They could hear their Omega, but not see him. 

“I could try to find a way around-?” Tim asked, no longer needing to shout.

“No need.” Dick said, sinking to the ground, back against the wall. “There isn’t an opening to this corridor for over two miles.”

The reality of the situation hit most of the Pack, and Damian tried to remain inconspicuous as he joined Dick on the ground. Jason began pacing furiously. Bruce simply walked over to the wall and placed a hand on the stone.

“Tim? Son? Are you ok?” He inquired. As soon as he asked, he looked surprised at what came out of his mouth. Cass almost giggled. The man was too afraid to call his sons what they were.

“I’m fine.”

“Try again, baby bird.” Jason challenged. “I can smell the pain from here.”

Tim sighed. “I may have broken my leg.”

Dick jolted upright, back ramrod straight. “What? How long has it been broken? Have you been walking on it?”   
  


“Haven’t had much of a choice.” Tim let out a dry, cynical chuckle that did absolutely nothing to alleviate any concerns. “Been running for hours. I knew Ra’s was going to come, eventually, considering- well. Did not plan for it to be this early. I’ve accomplished everything I came to do, but it’s only a matter of time before they find me.”   
  


“Tim.” Bruce said, softly. “Why didn’t you tell us what was going on?”

“Guess you all found out, huh? I don’t know. It wasn’t important. There was this, and patrol, and that war between HR and accounting- which, if you see Lucius, tell him I can’t be present for the treaty signing tomorrow. I was handling it, I thought-. Well. Turns out I wasn’t.”

Damian spoke up. His body language was still confused, but he forged onwards “You will be back for the ridiculous antics you allow, Drake. But know this- we would’ve helped. As Richard insists on reminding me every second of every day, Pack looks after each other.”

The proclamation shocked the voice on the other side of the wall into silence. Cass walked over to Damian and patted him on the head to reward him. Of course, he was too respectful of her to bite back. 

“Ok. We can…. Talk about that later. When we get you out. Right now, what do you know about the maze?” Bruce asked, leaning against the wall, looking intensely awkward.

The Omega- and it was that Omega scent driving everyone crazy, the one that all of their instincts were screaming to go find and help, considering how Tim smelled so  _ desperate, fearful, help me-  _ started to relay details. In the meantime, Cass shrugged off her bag, and pulled out the item that she’d lugged all the way here.

“Brother!” She called, interrupting his explanation- he was almost done anyway. “I have something for you!”

Then she motioned for everyone to gather. “Bandages. Toss them over. Medicine, too.”

“Cass, that’s brilliant!” Dick exclaimed. Damian gave her a nod of respect as well, and Jason ruffled her hair. After some discussion, they formed a pillar. Bruce was elected to be at the bottom, then Dick (they left Jason out, Bruce couldn’t hold 210 pounds of muscle for more than ten seconds) climbed on his shoulders. Then Cass scrambled atop the two, finding her spot on top of Dick’s shoulders. She took a minute to wrap up the bandages, pills, and her gift up into a little bundle so they could be thrown over easily enough.

“Cass, sis, I love you, but just throw the thing already.” Dick grunted. “When did you get so heavy, anyone? I don’t remember you being this heavy.”

“Not me. Thinking of Tim. Tim small.”

“Hey!” The affronted shout arose.

Then Cass reached back, and threw it.

“Guys, what- oh. Oh my gosh, thank you. Cass, did you bring this all the way here?”

It was easy enough to visualize her brother- hurriedly wrapping his leg, downing some pills, and holding the pink blanket from earlier this week which Cass had dragged all the way here close to his face. Before tossing it over, she’d had each of the pack scent it, reminding Tim that they were coming to get him.

“We’re coming for you, Tim.” Bruce promised tiredly. “We’ll find you.”

There was a pause “I know. I just hope you’re not too late. Bruce, what if-”   
  


“No.” Jason interrupted. “That’s not going to happen. Not on my f******* watch. Not to you, not ever. For once in his life, B is right. We’ll find you.” 

“As weak as you are, we will rescue you, Drake. Have some faith in our abilities.” Damian added. He held out a hand to Dick, who had fallen back to the ground.

“Yeah, Timbo.” Dick said. “It’s gonna be ok.”

“Besides, I need you.” Cass said, straight faced. “We’re taking over so I can be in charge. “

“No Tim! Don’t sign away your loyalty! We have to stop her reign of terror!” Jason interjected.

The Omega laughed wetly, amusement mixing with pain. As hard as Cass was trying to cheer him up, she knew that fear. Not intimately, but it was a real concern. Finding the Omega was priority. She needed to hug him, needed to find her genius little brother, needed to cuddle together with their matching blankets in the living room. 

“Okay. Okay. See you soon?”

“See you soon.” Cass promised.

It was the Pack’s job to keep the Omega safe.


	10. Damian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: Attempted Rape. 
> 
> Very clearly rape. It's attempted, so I don't get too graphic, but just.... be careful.

The passages were blending together. They’d reached dead ends five times now, and traversed over six miles total. Eventually, the looming, tall walls started to prey on your unconscious, settling in the corners of your vision permanently.

But other than that, it was quiet. After their brief meet up with Drake, conversation had dwindled and died. All that could be heard were the thunks of combat boots hitting ground, repetitive and monotonous. 

Except for the quiet breaths of the ninjas who were lying in wait to ambush.

And the even quieter breaths of the Pack who was lying in wait to ambush the ambushing ninjas.

And the almost imperceptible breathing of the ninja who had spotted both groups, and had attempted to ambush the Pack who was trying to ambush the ambushing ninjas.

But Todd had decked him, and he was no longer a problem.

Presumably, Grandfather was doing a Hunt so that he could say he won the right to Drake’s… to marry Drake fair and square. Of course, the whole thing was rigged, but as long as the Omega evaded capture, it was a free for all. Normally, in a hunt, whichever Alpha got to them first, took them, but the ninjas were obviously on orders to take and bind the Omega.

Richard flashed the go sign, and Cassandra descended.

It was over in a matter of seconds.

Damian went down from the perch as well (built into the walls, obviously intended to spice things up and allow an ambush) onto the perch below (so you could have an ambush on an ambush, the ultimate goal) where the bodies of the assailants lay. He stepped over them gingerly, and stripped one of its gear. He handed the packaged food to Todd, who had not ceased complaining about the lack of food for several hours. Cassandra made grabby hands and took another package as well.

“This is ridiculous.” He sniffed, disgusted. “Not only are these men poorly trained, but we have run into five groups at this point. When will we meet up with Drake again?”

“I don’t know, Little D.” Richard said, running a hand through his hair. “Soon? I assumed since our paths were so close together, we’d run into each other eventually, but-”   
  


“But this f******** maze stretches on into eternity.” Todd interrupted. “Also, thanks. Even if it’s some nasty dried fruit.”

Cassandra grinned, then shoved the ‘nasty dried fruit’ straight into Todd’s mouth. Damian spoke over his spluttering and coughing.

“I did it so you’d stop the infernal complaining.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, you little brat. You just don’t want to admit you care about-”

“Boys. Quiet.” Father barked.

“But B~,” Dick whined “Damian's getting all grown up, aren’t you prou-”

“No.” Every scent in the room turned a mixture of sad or disappointed. Cassandra smacked him on the arm in reprimand. “I mean, yes, I am, but-. Never mind. There’s noise coming from the left.”

As one, they turned that direction, where a path branched off. Indeed, with everyone quiet, there was an almost inaudible sound. Silently, all of them dropped down, Cassandra and Father leading the way. Padding along, the sounds gradually grew louder and louder, till they resolved themselves to be voices.

“Detective.” One purred. “I do wish you’d reconsider.”

“Funnily enough, Ra’s, I’m not interested in sealing away my free will today. Perhaps we could…..” The voice paused, panting. “Reschedule for another time? I can give you my secretary’s number.” 

Everyone glanced at each other. Timothy. And Ra’s as well.

“Your secretary? The one currently tied up with bubble wrap and being used as a hostage by the Accounting department?”   
  


There was some silence.

“Again?”

“It appears so.”

Drake and now they were close enough that they could smell him, distressed and terrified, (and Damian didn’t have to look to know his family were all reacting to that scent, itching to move) sighed. “That’s too bad. Perhaps you could let me leave and take care of that?”   
  


“Oh Detective, you know I can’t do that.”

Damain peered around the corner and took in the scene. Timothy, leg bandaged but the white wrapping now turned red with blood, was kneeling on the ground, panting heavily. His skinny form was wrapped in a pink blanket. Black shadows surrounded by him, Alphas and Betas, assassins, all of them in some form of controlled rut, smelling  _ aroused _ . They kept back from him though, due to the presence of one green cloaked Alpha, who was stooping and tilting Timothy’s chin up to face him.

Todd hissed at the touch, but Father laid a hand on him- not to calm him, but to keep him in place till the right time.

“Maybe we could take this someplace a bit less dirty, then, get some tea, watch a film-”

“It’s over, Timothy.” Ra’s voice held nothing but pleasure, a sick sense of satisfaction that made Damian feel uncomfortable in every part. “Stop with the banter.”

“But the banter’s the best part!” Timothy said, grinning weakly, scent screaming  _ fear, get away from me, someone help me, anyone _ . None of it showed on his face, of course- out of all of them, he was the best liar. 

“I rather disagree, but that’s not the matter I came to discuss. We could still skip this, if you wish, though it’d be rather a disappointment considering all the trouble I went to. Still might be the mmm… highlight of my day. But I digress. If you wish to move past this, you could still be my heir, instead of a… spouse. You could-”   
  
Damain tuned out his Grandfather- no, that  _ man’s  _ voice, he could scarcely believe he was related to this monster, and turned to the rest of the Pack. Richard was stock still, a clear indicator of how bad things were in a man who never stopped moving. He held out a hand to Todd, who passed him a gun. Of course, Richard had learned to use firearms with his police training. Todd himself held his signature guns, safety off, trigger finger ready, eyes glowing an alarming shade of green. Cassandra was biting her lip, the most uncomfortable Damian had ever seen her. And Father….

Father looked a bit like he was considering making an exception to his no- kill rule.

It was a testament to how focused the group of ninjas was on Timothy, how interested they smelled, (rut inflamed) that none of them caught the Pack’s scent. That scent being  _ furious _ . 

“-but I don’t think any of that is an incentive.” Ra’s sighed, faking disappointment. “I will have to simply take what I want.”

Then he let go of Timothy-

In favor of tearing off his shirt.   
  


He grasped Timothy’s face, and dragged it closer, pushing him to the ground at the same time. The Alpha pinned him to the dirt, clawing one hand around the small of the Omega’s back, obviously enjoying the feeling of pinching the skin there, slipping off the pants, reaching downwards -

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**_BANG! BANG! BANG!_ **

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Three bullet holes appeared - one in the man’s arm, one in his leg, and one in his shoulder. Ra’s crumpled to the ground, falling unconscious on top of Timothy, and every single ninja in the room turned to stare at them. Jason and Dick both lowered their smoking guns. It was impossible to tell who had shot where.

Then chaos erupted.

It was a flurry of fists and shouting, kicking and gunshots. Damian only caught glimpses of his family- the bullet flying past was Todd, the escrima stick slamming down on his attacker’s skull was Richard. He took special pleasure in kicking in a ninja’s face-it was easier to dwell on the violence rather than what had happened. To Drake. What had almost happened. What could’ve…. Really, it was over in a matter of seconds. None of the men there had been prepared for them.

They paused, panting, everyone’s attention switching to Drake. The Omega was on the ground, being held by Cassandra, who must’ve slipped past in the battle to focus on her number one priority. Ra’s’s body had been dragged off to the side. She was stroking his hair, softly murmuring words Damian didn’t catch. A tear- a single drop - tracked down Dra- Timothy’s face. The scent coming off of him, desperation and fear at his finest, and also relief, potent, tugged at every part of him. His arms were instinctively reaching up to go…. Hug? Timothy. Around him, the rest of his Pack members were reacting much in the same way.

It was Father, however, who made the first move. He dropped down on one knee next to Timothy, and took hold of one (small, tiny, fragile) hand.

“Tim? Buddy? We’re here. It’s gonna be okay.”

Tim’s voice was edging towards raspy, but he opened his eyes and pushed himself forward. “No.”

“No?” Father replied, as everyone else exchanged glances.

“No. We have to… go. Get out, while you still can. But thanks for coming, anyways. I thought….” Tim’s eyes started to sag, and he fell back. The adrenaline must be crashing, Damian thought absently. His wounds were starting to get to him.

“Of course we came, Baby bird.”Todd said, stepping forward. He and Richard had remained back, obviously wanting to give Father a second or too. “What do you mean, get out?”

“I-” Tim coughed a bit, wincing in pain as the movement jostled his leg. “Shoot. Think my leg got infected.” He breathed. “You're not supposed ta’.... walk on a broken… leg, and missing an organ doesn’t help.”

Richard’s eyes widened, and he stooped to take a look at the leg, but Tim waved him off. “That’s not important right now. You guys have to  _ go _ . There’s not much time left. Maybe five minutes, tops.”

“Five minutes till  _ what _ , Timothy?” Damian asked, a bit forcefully. They needed to go, he needed to apologize, or fix things, he needed a distraction-

“I planted…. Bombs. The place is gonna blow. Hey, did you just call me Timothy? If this is what it takes to get you to care, maybe I should’ve done it sooner.”

What.

“No, Timmy, that’s absolutely not okay-” Dick paused as what the Omega said before that caught up. “This place is gonna blow!? Shoot!”

“Yeah.” Drake giggled hysterically. “Shoot.” And with that parting statement, his head lolled back and he finally passed out.

For a second, everyone stayed there, stunned, but then Father picked up Drake and everyone whipped into a flurry of action. Richard waited for a half a second, till everyone was paying attention to him, then took off sprinting, following the map he’d been drawing. Damian didn’t stop to see whether anyone was going, but immediately followed the Alpha. He put on an extra burst of speed till he drew level with the man.

“We’re not going to make it out.” He stated seriously. “We traveled several miles to get to this location.”

“Maybe.” Richard said. “But do you really think Ra’s Al Ghul would build a place like this without multiple exits and entrances?”

Of course.

“But-” and Damain had to draw in another breath, despite their training, running this fast left him gasping- “we didn’t pass any openings.”

“That’s what I thought too, but there are several possible points I marked that we didn’t explore. Ones that could lead to stairs I saw .One of them is about four minutes away.”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “And if we don’t find the way out.”

Richard was silent for a moment. “We have to.” He said gravely.

Damian just ran faster at that.

Soon enough, they turned, and turned again, right, left, twisting, weaving, squirming through a narrow opening. The stone walls flashed by to form a concrete gray- colored background. Slowly, Damian could see the edges of the cave approaching- since that’s what this was, the biggest cave he’d ever laid eyes on- natural and gritty, unpolished, a relief. They sprinted the last stretch-

And ran into a dead end.

“Turn back.” Richard panted hoarsely. “There’s a different path we can take.”

They did so. As they turned back, Cassandra met up with them. She’d been following their footprints, deep and heavy on the dirt. She gave them a grin and fell in step.

The new path led closer, and closer, till-

“The gate!” Damian shouted joyously.

Richard spun in a circle, laughing victoriously, grabbing Cass spontaneously and lifting her up.. They’d made it in time. With- he checked his gear- three minutes left.

They passed through the gate easily enough. Richard stopped there to fiddle with the scanners.

“We need to disable it.” He explained.

The three of them made short work of it- the gate had been guarded on the other side, intended to keep Drake inside, not keep people out. Then they ascended up the stone steps, nearly tripping over each other in their mad dash, and rushed out the tunnel. Stepping out was striking- it felt like they’d spent weeks in the maze, but it was still night outside. It’d only been a few hours.

Richard leaned against a wall, struggling to catch his breath. “Cass… can you call the plane? We’ll need evac.”

The Beta nodded and stepped aside to make the call. It was barely seconds later when Father burst out, Drake in his arms. Damian moved unconsciously, drawn to the Omega like a magnet. He laid one hand on Drake’s forehead. It was burning up. Now that he could see him better, he could tell that the boy was dressed in clothing that was loose and strategically ripped in several places. Rage began building up as he thought of people undressing him,  _ touching him _ . They were lucky Ra’s was very possessive and obsessed with fairness, considering it dishonourable to take a mate without winning them fairly with the proper ritual.

Lucky?   
  


Nothing about this was lucky.

Not even Drake- no, Timothy  _ especially _ didn’t deserve this.

Damian couldn’t shake the feeling that he shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t see the Omega in this moment of weakness, particularly since he was related to that man who’d almost, well. 

Why had this happened? 

Why Timothy?

Cassandra’s voice cut through the quiet. “The helicopter has landed.”

Wearly, Richard asked “What about Jason?”

“We have a little over a minute left.” Damian pointed out, pushing down the thoughts that were screaming at him to get Timothy someplace safe. “If he’s coming, he’ll have to be here in the next 10 seconds.”   
  


“Yeah, yeah, I’m here. How’s he doing, bossman?” Jason huffed, emerging from the tunnel.

No one had to ask him to clarify who ‘he’ was.

“He’ll be better once we start on setting the bone and getting him in surgery.” Father replied. “What took you so long?”

And now they were moving again, seeking the way back to the hill they’d landed on only a few hours ago. They’d parachuted down, in a need for stealth, but now that they had Timothy safe, the helicopter could come a bit lower and land instead.

Todd’s face twisted. “I had a few last gifts to deliver to Ra’s.”

“Did you-”

“No.” Todd ran ahead but threw out one last line behind him. “Tim wouldn’t have wanted that.”

As one, a pack, they trekked up to the waiting helicopter. Everyone strapped in, but Damian couldn’t help his gaze from straying to watch Drake’s- pinched from pain, even when unconscious. The helicopter flew off, and the boom below them shook the vehicle, tearing open the ground, causing a massive cave in. Buildings began to crumble, and the sounds reached them even up in the air. 

The Pack watched out the window at the widespread destruction. Hesitantly, Dick started “Do you think anyone died?”

“No.” Cass answered shortly.

“Babybird probably figured out how to cause massive property damage without casualties.” Jason explained.

Damian sniffed. “Despite Drake’s failings, he wouldn’t be that lax, Richard. You know him.”

The Alpha nodded, appeased, then suddenly reached for Damian and pulled him tight to his chest. Briefly, Damian considered fighting, but decided against it- the campfire smell was strangely soothingly, and Richard clearly needed him as a proxy for the Omega (He didn’t think about how he needed it as well). 

The anxiety was still there- not knowing if Drake was going to be ok, if he’d be able to use his leg. (Wondering if he’d be able to face him, the grandson of that man). But unbuckling, dragging his older brother along with him, taking Todd’s hand as well, Cass trailing behind them, maneuvering in the crowded helicopter in order to all pile on Father and Drake certainly helped.

His hands shook, but he reached out anyways and brushed a hand against the pink blanket Drake was wrapped in.

They had gotten there in time.

It would be ok.

It was the Pack’s job to keep the Omega safe.


	11. Bruce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cuddles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: discussion of rape, trauma responses/flinches, male lactation if that makes you uncomfy, idk
> 
> Heh heh, did literal hours of research on broken legs, then it all ended up being compressed into a single paragraph! That's writing for you. Not a medical professional, so hope it's all accurate.
> 
> Thanks so much for the response last chapter!

They were able to save the leg.

Hallelujah, they saved the leg.

Miraculously, the bone hadn’t shifted too much, so when they’d rushed him back to Leslie’s clinic, she’d been able to realign the bone without needing to put in permanent screws. There were temporary ones, and Tim got a cast, but he was going to be fine. It was an oblique fracture, but it was complicated by a stab wound directly beside it. Apparently he’d been stabbed in that leg, then fallen on the  _ same leg _ and broke it.

And then the leg had gotten infected.

Tim was on antibiotics. Leslie had been very clear that they were extremely lucky it hadn’t been worse- as it was, he’d be on them for 4-6 weeks, and the cast would be on for 6-8 weeks, depending on how it progressed. She’d sat them down and told them they weren’t allowed to let Tim do anything strenuous for the next few weeks.

Considering the way his siblings had been crowding around the bed when they spoke, it wouldn’t be a problem.

  
  


Coming back had been exhausting. His kids had surrounded the Omega, basically piling on top of him, while Bruce had to arrange everything else. He wanted to join them- honestly, he wanted to sweep them all up in his arms and never let them leave. And then the surgery had happened- only Dick had remained with him, the rest going back to the Manor to make it “Tim- proof” (a.k.a. locking down every single electronic in the house). 

Dick was dozing right now, head tilted at an angle that made Bruce hurt to even look at. His hand was resting on the bed, grasping Tim’s hand with a hold that was surprisingly tight. The boy had woken up for a few minutes an hour ago, and had related a harrowing tale of running for hours and hours, running from Ra’s, smelling their… interest everywhere he went, getting stabbed, pushed off a ledge, and having to deal with numerous attackers all the while.

Tim started to talk about how some of his attackers were less interested in fighting and more interested in doing… other things, but Bruce had set a hand on his shoulder and asked him to stop. He couldn’t deal with that. Just… not right now.

Somehow, though, they’d all avoided going into rut over this, though if Jason had been here (and he was sticking around, back at the Manor?) it would have been the last straw. As it was, Dick refused to be moved from his side, and Bruce...

He was so tired.

Why did this keep happening to them?   
  


Really, all Bruce wanted in life was his family safe, everyone happy, and crime eradicated from Gotham.

Sometimes it felt like the first two were even less realistic than the latter. 

He stared down at his son, a looming presence. Tim was sprawled on the pillows, raven hair sticking up in spikes, looking for all the world at peace. (So cute! Dick had squealed.) He could smell Tim from here- that was enough. That unique rain and earth scent, that curled around your shoulders and settled on like a favorite old coat. He’d hug him- but would Tim want that? From an older male? An Alpha? The trauma alone… Nothing had happened, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t good, didn’t mean it wasn’t trauma. Would TIm even let them take him back to the Manor? Was Tim going to be okay? Would there even be an okay ever again?

“Scent him.”

Bruce startled a bit, and glanced over to Tim’s left. Dick stared at him, evidently having just woken up. His other son- who most of the time smelled like campfires and smores, like a fun camping trip, like getting away from it all but right now smelled like the fire in the dead of night, the only light between you and the monsters, smelled protective,  _ I need this one safe _ . 

“What?” 

“Scent him.” Dick repeated, more confident. “I could, but it’ll mean more coming from you. Otherwise he’s going to wake up smelling like Ra’s. Do you want that?”

Bruce reeled for a second, horrified at the thought. “No.” He said forcefully. “Of course not. I- I guess I never thought about that.”

“Then do it.” Dick ordered, looking for the first time exhausted and exasperated, his campfire, toasted marshmallows turning more smoke.

Bruce blinked. “Ok.”

He shuffled forward, towards the hospital bed, and bent down. Leaning down, he could smell that other man on his son. It was… nasty. Sick.  _ Pleasure _ , and  _ Pain _ , and  _ I have you now, Detective _ . Like everything wrong in the universe. Suddenly desperate to get it off, he took hold of his face and rubbed until there was nothing but his Alpha scent all over him, screaming  _ This one is mine _ . He didn’t even notice when he began growling, a little crazy to get Ra’s off, because this one was Bruce’s, this one was Wayne Pack. Tim was not a toy, he was theirs, their Omega, he deserved choice.

It took him too long to erase it all, and when he was done, he suddenly felt very silly, displaying such obvious affection. Looking up again, Dick gave him a smug grin, now in a one- armed handstand, impossibly still holding Tim’s hand.. “Knew you wanted to. You don’t do that for everybody.”

Bruce collapsed onto the chair next to him, and not even deigning to respond, slung an arm around his eldest’s shoulders. Dick, sensing the rare opportunity that this was, climbed over his chair to settle into Bruce’s lap- which was not fun for him. Dick was twenty. Why was he so heavy? He grunted as Dick relaxed and his limbs splayed out everywhere. It was a minute before-

“Can I get a hug?” Dick asked hopefully.

“You’re pushing it, buddy.” Bruce grumbled.

“That wasn’t a no.” The Alpha shifted till he was basically suffocating him and wriggled his arms underneath Bruce’s back till he was giving him an extremely uncomfortable hug. Then he rubbed his face all over Bruce’s neck, scenting him. Why was his son like this? Why couldn’t they all be a bit more like Tim, who never- actually, never mind. He much preferred it when his sons talked to him, and didn’t bottle things up.

“Dick. Get off.”

“Awwww. I gotta try, ya know.” His eldest whined, finally moving back to his own chair- through he kept a hand gripped tightly in Bruce’s own, forming a chain to Tim.

“No. No, you really don’t.” Bruce shot back.

“Yeah Dick. Leave him in peace.”

They were both up out of their chairs and at his bedside before you could say “Batman’s emotionally stunted”. Tim was blinking his eyes and sniffing experimentally.  _ Nothing _ could beat the relief felt at that, seeing Tim safe,  _ there _ , alive. He almost fell back into a chair.

“Yuck. Did you  _ all _ have to go over me? I smell like I  _ am _ you, B, not like we’re family. Nasty.”

Dick gave him a grin. “If you don’t want to smell like B, I’d be happy to-”

Tim smacked him with his free hand- very carefully, Bruce noticed, not letting go of Dick with his other.“No! Ew, no. Stay away from me.”

“Tim, what happened?” Bruce asked softly, not wanting to ruin the moment, but it needed to be done.

His boy straightened up immediately- like Red Robin, Bruce thought distantly. “I’m so sorry, there were some complications, it wasn’t supposed to turn out like that, you didn’t need to get involved.”   
  


“What the h**** do you mean you’re ‘sorry’?” Dick interrupted angrily. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

Tim frowned. “I messed up? I got captured? I failed? All of those?”

Bruce did  _ not _ like that. “Tim. You did not fail. I don’t think I can count high enough to number all the times Dick’s been kidnapped-”

“Hey!”

“-or the times he’s messed up-”

“Hey!”

“Or the times I’ve failed.”   
  


“He- oh, never mind, that one isn’t about me. Wait. No, that’s still some angsty baloney I take offense to, so Hey! No negative self talk here.” Dick protested.

“Holy Self Deprecation, Batman!” Tim added.

Dick narrowed his eyes at the younger man. “I did not sound like that.”

“Oh yes you did.” Bruce said drily. He adopted a squeaky voice. “‘Holy Bunions, Batman!’ It was awful. If you think Dick is bad now, you should’ve seen him back then.” The last bit was said to Tim, who had struggled up into a sitting position. 

“Betrayal. You both are so mean.” Dick grumbled. Then he caught sight of Tim’s new position and gasped. “Timmy, no! You have to  _ rest _ . Which means lying on your  _ back.  _ It’s the new thing called Sleep, not sure if you’ve heard of it.”

“Sleep is for the weak.” Tim replied. “Whatchya gonna do, anyway? Lie on me till I fall back asleep?”

Dick brightened up. “That is a  _ great  _ idea, Timbo.”

“Wha- no, what the heck, get off of me-!” His complaints became muffled as Dick rolled on top of his face, snuggling into his side and clutching his brother to his chest. 

“Bruce.” Tim finally said when he freed his head from the cage that was Dick. “Save me. Get me out of here.”

Bruce smiled, intending to reach out, but- he had some self preservation. “Sorry, son, you’re on your own.”

“B~, don’t leave me he- oof. Get off, geez.” Dick hugged his brother back into submission- which. Was not a bad idea. Hey, even he could bestow affection.

“Alright, Dick, get off.” Dick whined at him, sounding just like a pup, a strange thing for sure. “It’s my turn.”

Instantly, Dick let go, smelling overjoyed, letting Bruce squish his youngest up in his arms. Tim let out a few noises of surprise, but Bruce ignored them in favor of focusing on the small child in his arms. Why was he so small? He was so  _ tiny _ . His Alpha side was finally at peace since the whole ordeal, finally okay now that he had his little Omega in his arms. 

“Is Bruce okay?” Tim asked after a few minutes.

Dick chuckled from behind him. “He’s been worried about you.”

“Oh.”

Bruce let out a controlled breath (it was  _ not  _ a sigh, Dick), and tightened his hold a bit. “Don’t  _ do _ that to me again.”   
  


“Okay.” Tim promised. “It wasn’t intended, though, I didn’t mean to-”

“Nope.” Bruce pulled away, to stare down at him. “We’re going to talk later, ok?”

“Okay.”

“And you’re not leaving the Manor for a few days.”

“Okay.”

“And you’re giving up coffee.”   
  


“Oka- wait what? No.”

Dick laughed, and Bruce cracked a smile. “Even I’m not going to pull you away from your coffee, Tim, and I’m Batman.”

“C’mon, Timmy, let’s get you back to your precious caffeine and the Manor. Doc Leslie said you’re good to go as soon as you woke up.” Dick said, disconnecting the IV and picking up his little brother in his arms. As they walked out, Bruce explained the basics of the broken leg to Tim, and the casts and crutches yet to come.

They left quickly enough, calling Alfred to drive them back- A reunion of its own. Alfred had taken one look at the small child in Dick’s arms, then picked Timothy up himself for a strong hug, then scenting him- one of the very few times Bruce had seen such a thing. Quiet words had been exchanged, words that sounded like “Cryptic phone numbers are not soothing in any way, Master Timothy’ ‘Yeah, I know. Sorry Alfie. If it’s any consolation, I’ll be sleeping a lot this week?’ ‘Eight hours a night, I sincerely hope.’ ‘Geez, you really know how to milk it.’ ‘After many years of living with Master Bruce, I’ve learned such situations come along rarely.’Then they were arriving back at the Manor.

As soon as he laid a hand on the doorknob, it was flung open. Jason stood there, (his son, his son was back, all his sons were back) glancing at him briefly, but switching his attention quickly enough to Tim in Dick’s arms (Dick, it’s fine, I’ll get in a wheelchair or crutches or  _ anything _ but your arms. No. Stop. Dick, why?). 

“Timberlina!”   
  


His third eldest son groaned. “That’s  _ not _ my name, Jason. What are you doing at the Manor, anyway?”

That was a wonderful question. Bruce would love an answer. Not that he wanted Jason to leave.

Jason turned around and yelled into the cavernous hallways. “Hey guys! Tim Tam’s back!” He turned back and refocused his attention on the small boy. “C’mon, Dick, pass him off.”

“Sure. He’s kinda getting heavy. When you’d get so heavy?” Dick said, leaning in scent Tim one last time.

“Dick, seriously, I didn’t mean that when I said-” He stopped abruptly as Jason  _ also  _ rubbed his cheek on his collarbone. “No. No. Is this a thing now? I don’t want this to be a thing.”

Jason grinned, hoisted the kid into a bridal carry, and started off into the foyer.“Tough luck, Tim- buk-tu. Shouldn’t have gotten kidnapped. Bet even Damian will want to-”

“Do NOT finish that sentence.” Tim interrupted, looking exasperated but happy at the same time. “I don’t ever want to think about that possibility. We’re mortal enemies, that’s it, nothing else.”

“You’re brothers, he loves you, in his own way.” Dick interjected.

Dick and Bruce trailed after the pair, who were heading for.... Somewhere. Jason’s room? Tim’s room? That direction. Honestly, Jason was here, nothing was impossible, they could be heading to Damian’s room for all he knew.

“Lies.” Tim mumbled. “You speak in lies. Hey, does anyone know where my phone is?”

Damian appeared suddenly, as well as Cass, and Alfred used his butler magic to somehow pop up with them. “Yes.” He announced.

“Great, can I have it?”

Damian eyed him, joining the group. “If you would like to break through Bruce’s training vault, inside there is a padlocked, solid steel, kryptonite infused box, where there is a block of solid ice. Inside the ice is another boobytrapped, duct taped box with trackers. All your electronics are there.”

Bruce whistled. Well done. They might keep Tim out of there for a week.

At that, the Omega shot him a glare. “Betrayal.” He hissed, lightheartedly. “I’m surrounded by traitors. Stupid Alphas.”

Dick began his protests, as well as Jason, but Cass spoke up for the first time as well.“Me too?” she asked, pouting.

“No, of course not. You’re my favorite sibling. Someone pass me to Cass. If I have to be carried, I’d rather be carried by her.”

Cass smiled at that and darted over to pick him up effortlessly, ruffling his hair. She marched off, and everyone else glanced around helplessly, then followed her. Dick pounced on them, straddling Cass’s back- which almost gave Bruce a heart attack. Of course though, it was Cass. Carrying almost 180 pounds of acrobat on her back and 120 pounds of her arms wasn’t hard. Damian kept pace with her, chattering on about something or another. Alfred trailed politely after, occasionally interjecting with some sarcastic comment. It looked… normal. Like they’d all be okay. Like Pack. Alpha scents,  _ Protective, in charge, these are mine _ , overpowered the whole scene, while the Beta scents sunk underneath,  _ Calm, Relief, Everyone is ok _ , always tempering the edge of an Alpha. And the Tim’s Omeganess filled the whole of it,  _ Bright, happy, Safe, This is Safe. _

He was so caught up in the image he almost didn’t realize that Jason had hung behind with him.

“Well Old Man, looks like everything turned out ok.” He said carefully, watching him closely. This was an important conversation then. A make or break.  _ Don’t mess it up, Bruce. _

“No.” Bruce shook his head. “No, it didn’t.”

Jason raised an eyebrow, not disbelief exactly. “It didn’t?” He gestured at the backs of the retreating group. “I don’t know. Timberly seems ok. Got his Pack with him- except us, of course, but we’ll be along soon enough.”

Bruce didn’t miss how he included himself as part of the Pack.

“Yes. Tim  _ seems _ ok. But he  _ seemed _ ok a few weeks ago, last week, when all of this stuff had been happening. He  _ seemed  _ ok in that maze, up until the very end. Now, I know I’m not the best at being a Head Alpha-”

Jason snorted, but Bruce ignored it.

“-But even I know something’s got to change. We’ve only got one Omega. I….” Bruce struggled for a second, tapping into his emotions, the rare occurrence that that was. “I want him safe. I want him home. I want him to feel like he can talk to me, to us, to  _ someone _ other than a former-”

“-current-” Jason interrupted.

“Current?” Bruce blinked. He would deal with  _ that _ later. “Assassin. I want… I want him to be happy.”

Jason looked at him hard then, intense, stared right into his eyes- a challenge if Bruce had ever seen one, exerting his dominance. Instantly, Bruce felt his hackles rise. His Alpha side flared, angry that someone would challenge his authority- Jason hadn’t even done anything yet, was simply staring at him. Bruce forced himself to calm down.

“Bruce,” Jason began, serious as he’d ever seen him, more serious than the time he’d asked for permission to attend a Shakespeare festival back in his Robin days. “You better be serious. You better be f****** serious. Tim deserves better, and ya betta be willin’ to show up with that or more. If ya ain’t, Imma take Tim and we’ll get the h*** out of Gotham, because I may be a sh**** brother but I ain’t about to let what happen happen again.”

“It’s not going to.” Bruce said, finally recognizing the challenge for what it was. He stared directly back into Jason’s eyes. “I won’t let it.”

Jason huffed a laugh, muttering something about “D**m bats, thinking they can control everything’, but he looked away. Clearly, Bruce said something right. That was a first. But he meant it. With every fiber of his being.

It wasn’t going to happen again.

He wouldn’t let it.

“C’mon then.” Jason drawled. “We got it all set up, let’s see if it meets his Highness’s standards.”

“Set up what?” Bruce questioned.

Jason didn’t answer, but instead walked ahead and opened…

The door to Bruce’s room?   
  


Instantly, they were assaulted with the sounds, smells, and general cacophony of his Pack. Bruce took a step in the room and almost gasped- from fear or awe, he wasn’t sure. The short summary was that his bed had been colonized. The long answer was that it seemed like every single available pillow, blanket, soft thing, and living animal had been relocated to his bed. Dick was lounging on the pillows, Damian under one arm, assigning everyone a Monopoly piece. Somehow, he still had that grip on Tim’s hand- a grip that was both parties kept tight, like a lifeline.

Damian was leaning out of his space under Dick’s arms to rearrange the Monopoly pieces till they were all at perfect, 90 degree angles. He didn’t look at Tim at all, but one foot was very carefully touching Tim’s leg, a contact they both carefully ignored, though as Bruce watched, Tim pressed into the contact. Damian also had found yet another katana somewhere (Bruce swore he mass produced them in some secret forgery he built in the Cave, like a hydra- you take away one sword, two more popped up). It was in easy reach, not to Damian, but to Tim. From the way Tim kept looking up at it, looking carefully to make sure he could still easily chop everyone in the room to bits, it was clear that had been intentional,

Cass had her head pillowed on the Omega’s lap, looking carefully through the property deeds, listening closely as Tim explained the principles of the game to her. Occasionally, she’d reach up and rub her face along his, a fact that annoyed Tim to no end, if his facial expressions were any indication. He didn’t shy away though, the way he did when one of the boys moved suddenly.

Probably had issues with Alphas now, Bruce noted. Males, too.

Jason leapt onto the bed, settling right next to Tim, moving Cass’s legs till they were on top of him, then leaning down to whisper in his ear. Everyone pretended not to listen… but, well, they were Bats.

“Hey, Babybird, is it ok if I put my arm around you?” Jason whispered.

“Yeah, it’s… fine.”

“Is it though? Really?”

Tim hesitated.  _ There was another one for the file on Tim’s Trauma _ . “Just… around my shoulders. Not my back.”

Jason nodded (and wasn’t it sad that Jason knew to ask those questions, that he was so courteous of that, because he had seen it all before) and put his arm around the boy’s shoulders. Why the two were suddenly on such good terms, Bruce didn’t know, but he certainly wasn’t going to question it. 

Then he suddenly scruffed Tim. Just lifted him up, by the back of his neck. Everyone stopped, for a moment. Cass half sitting up, Bruce taking a half step  _ just in case _ .

“Don’t  _ ever _ do that again, ok? I know you’re going to get this talk from Bruce, and from Dick, and probably everyone in this f****** household, but you’re going to promise me right here and now that if something like that ever happens again, or you need help with something- nope, I don’t need an explanation,  _ listen to me _ , you’ll call me.’K?”

“Ok.” Tim squeaked.

Gosh, his son looked adorable like that.

Red Robin everyone, the man who can destroy a thousands of years old League assassin and was the second greatest detective in the world, being lifted up in the air and scolded. 

Jason, appeased, lowered him again, put his arm around his shoulders, tilting Tim’s head until it lay against his, till they both looked comfy. Jason smiled a bit then, down at his little brother, who looked utterly exhausted. Tim, who Bruce could suddenly smell something milky coming from. His eyes widened a little. Now? It couldn’t be- but every pack member perked up a bit on the bed, but the Omega only lifted one hand and patted Cass on the head. 

She lifted his shirt and the scent came out full force- milky, sweet and utterly irresistible. Even Bruce had to grip the wall a little harder, in order to stop himself from running forward. Omega milk was not often offered up, and Tim especially kept it to himself. Rarely, if ever, had Bruce been offered any. The first time had been several months after he’d adopted, an experience Bruce had not had since his mother. Omega milk was an ambrosia of sorts, the liquid form of a natural high, used to reinforce pack bonds. But Tim had chosen Cass this time. Not a surprise- he probably didn’t want an Alpha in his space.

Milk started to trickle down from Tim’s very full breasts. Cass reached up and began to suckle. Tim’s back arched and he let out a purr, deep throated and long. He hadn’t heard Tim sound like that in a long time- the Omega had far too much self control to sound so, so pleased. Tim was also rather aware a noise like that would make every Pack member show up and cuddle, so there was some self preservation involved. It was no different this time. Everyone shifted closer, impossibly, and Jason started to lick Tim’s cheek comfortingly.

“You’re next, Damian.” He mumbled, in between purrs.

Damian looked highly surprised, but scooted over, moving in between Dick and Tim.

This was probably his first time, in fact.

They’d come so far.

Bruce almost started crying for that fact, right then and there. He did discreetly smile, until Jason caught him staring.

“Hurry up, Old Man.” Jason scowled. “We’ve got a Game of Monopoly to play, and I need to beat your capitalist butt.”

“Bold of you to assume you’d win.” He returned, feeling a smile grow on his face, climbing into the nest of blankets and pillows. “After all, who runs a Fortune 500 company?”

“Me.” Tim answered drowsily. “That’s why I’ll win.”

Bruce settled himself into the blankets and pillows, wiggling until he was comfy, and then rather irrationally, grabbed one of Tim’s feet. Just to… assure him his son was there. Real.

They would talk later. Figure it out all later. Get Tim to move back later, to confide in him later, to talk to him about his surgery and what all that entailed, later.

Right now though?   
  


He had a game of Monopoly to beat.

It was the Pack’s job to keep the Omega safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dick won the game, impossibly. While everyone was arguing with each other, he got Boardwalk and Park Place. Cass came in second because she got all the Utilities and Railroads


	12. Alfred

“Nice try, but there’s no escaping! I’m going to find you, strap you down, and make sure you  _ stay _ in that bed! And then I’ll set Dick on you! Do you want that, huh? If you give up now, I’ll skip that! Tim! Seriously, Babybird, where are you?”

Master Jason’s loud voice rang through the hallways, echoing loudly. Alfred sighed and turned back to the dishes. With all the young boys at home, there was a lot more food to be made, and in turn, a lot more to be cleaned. Not that Alfred minded. Not in the slightest. They were all here, all  _ home _ , and what more could he ask for?

...Other than the chandelier not being broken every month. 

One of these days Master Dick would understand it was not an appropriate climbing surface.

“Hey, Alfie? Mind if I hide in here for a second?”

Master Tim. That call…

_ “We’ll let you know if- when we get him, Alf. Here.” _

_ A radio was pressed in his hands. _

_ “We’ll call. Soon as we have him.” Master Bruce promised. “Be back soon.” _

_ And then they left. And Alfred was alone, as he always was. Left behind by angry children, anguished men, a joking fellow soldier. After a while, the quiet became less oppressing. You learned to deal with it. _

_ That was a lie. _

_ He’d never learned to deal with it. _

_ But after hours and hours of waiting, with now- polished floors, dusted shelves, and more batches of cookies than he’d care to admit, the radio he’d carried close to him crackled to life. _

_ “We have him.” _

_ (Hey Alfred, sorry I haven’t visited earlier, I brought a chessboard, thought you might want to play… Hi Alf. I’m back… Dang, Al, that was a tough one. Wanna head to the bar tonight? I’m beat.) _

_ The relief never got any less poignant, either. _

“Master Tim! I believe your brother has a point, whatever the phrasing is. You shouldn’t be out and about.”

He moved to help the young boy, who stood in the doorway supported on crutches, fresh from his ordeal by only a few days, but a long sigh stopped him.

“I know.” The younger man said, running a hand through his hair. “But, I don’t know, it’s sort of… a bit much. I just need some time without someone or another pulling me off to do something.”

Alfred nodded understandingly. He’d been on the receiving end of Master Dick’s attentions more than once. Despite his seemingly “endless” calm, as the children often talked about, it could get on one's nerves.

“Perhaps a few minutes then. Would you care for some biscuits?”

“Thanks, you’re the best. Biscuits as in like, bread or whatever, or biscuits as in British ones?” Tim asked, settling down in a chair.

“In this case, merely chocolate chip.” Alfred replied.

“I’d love some then, thank you.”

Alfred grabbed a plate and a veritable stack of cookies to pass off (he’d once tried instituting a three a day rule. It had totally, utterly failed). In a moment, the kitchen was once again filled with the sounds of water running with the addition of crunching cookies.

Until the door to his kitchen creaked open again.

Alfred looked up, scolding on his lips, but was arrested at the sight of Master Bruce. Shortly after Master Tim’s rescue, the man had disappeared to… He didn’t say. But from the whispered conversations, Alfred had gathered it most likely had something to do with punching a certain man’s face in several times, then leaving his mark on that particular man’s life.

If Alfred hadn’t thought Master Tim needed his presence more, he would’ve grabbed his shotgun and joined him.

“Tim. I’ve been looking for you.”

The Omega sighed. “Come to drag me back to some sitting down, extremely restful activity? Well, nice try B, but I’ve slept more this week than in the past year. I’m not moving.” He proclaimed, then proceeded to put his feet up on the table. Alfred shot him a look, and he sheepishly smiled. The feet went back on the ground.

“Actually it’s not about that.”

Tim waited a moment.

“Okay, maybe it is about that, but there’s something I wanted to discuss with you first.”

The younger man raised an eyebrow, and Master Bruce sank into a chair. Wordlessly, Alfred offered him cookies as well. Neither asked him to leave. If you couldn’t have a private conversation around Alfred, then it really shouldn’t be any sort of conversation at all.

“I’ve been wondering…” Bruce started. “Well, we haven’t gotten a chance to talk about it. What happened. Why, Tim?  _ Why _ -” He waved a hand around- “Why all of it? Why not talk to us, anyone, really. We would’ve helped.  _ We would. _ ”

Privately, Alfred cheered him on.

"We would." The Beta affirmed out loud.

“I… I didn’t really think about it.” Tim said quietly.

“If this… And it won’t, I’m not going to let it, but if it did ever happen, would you come talk to someone? Would you?” Tim opened his mouth, but Bruce held up a hand to stall him. “Be honest with me.”

Tim sat there, for a moment, and thought. “I… I don’t know.” He whispered. “Last time I did this, you were gone, and now…”

“Tim.” The word hung in the air, not an admonishment but rather a hand holding out. “You are a permanent part of Wayne Pack, you know that right? This is  _ your  _ Pack. I say it all the time, though goodness knows none of you listen, but I need you all to be safe. I need you to be careful. If you don't tell me those things, it doesn't help anyone.”

Time to step in. Alfred set down his towel and strode to stand down by the Alpha. “What Master Bruce means is that he cares very much about all of you and wishes you all the best in everything.”

“I- yes, I guess. That’s what I meant.” But Tim only stared a little harder at his hands, hunching in his shoulders. It was a stance that was submission, sort of, but not quite. What was it- oh. This was not something Alfred could help with.

These were words Master Bruce would have to say himself.

He tuned out the sounds of Bruce’s questions and Timothy’s one worded replies. Despite the urging inside him to fix things, he couldn’t. Pack dynamics were strange- Alphas felt an overbearing need to fix things, to keep everyone safe, but didn’t like their authority to be challenged. Omegas loved having family connections, needed to be taking care of everyone, but Tim also felt a fierce sense of independence. And Betas? Smoothed things over. Were often the middle, the ones who made encounters easy.

But this was not something he could fix.

“ _ Tim _ . Please. Just… promise me, you’ll call, when things get too much .”

“Things aren’t going to GET too much, Bruce.  _ I’m fine.  _ It was this one mistake, this one time. And thank you again, but it’s not going to happen again.”

His son Bruce dropped his head into his hands, clearly struggling. “Tim, I-.” He paused, clearly working up the courage. “Tim, I… care about you. I want you to be  _ safe _ . I know I don’t say it enough, but  _ please _ , please call me. Or text me. Or talk to someone. As much as I’d love it to be me, anyone else. Anyone.”

Master Tim looked up at that, shock clearly written all over his face. Some degree of that slipped it into his scent  _ What the heck is that, you can’t really mean that _ . "You mean that?"

Master Bruce closed his eyes, psyching himself up again. "Yes, Tim. I… care. About you. A lot."

At that, Tim hesitantly got out of his seat and approached the elder. Something had clicked, and whatever control Tim had over his scent had disappeared.  _ This was more Bruce's forte _ , Alfred thought, having removed himself from the situation as much as possible (he was watching, half hidden, from the pantry, how do you think he managed to see everything). Bruce held out his arms, long practiced from years of young boys, and Tim. Tim stood there, watching, for a second, then his body shuddered once, twice, and he practically fell into the outstretched arms. The man grabbed his boy, swinging him onto his lap. Despite there being a very good reason for the moniker "Tiny Tim" and another good reason Batman loomed over criminals, the boy fit a little awkwardly. But Timothy didn't seem to mind, burrowing his face into Bruce's shoulder, starting to cry a little, pressed up close against a broad chest and surrounded by his father.

It wasn't an  _ I love you _ , but some things are goals, and some things are dreams. Besides, it was enough for Tim.

"It was so… It was so  _ scary  _ Dad!" Timothy sobbed, all control completely gone now, days of pent up emotion being released. Most likely, he was just beginning to process. "I thought… I thought he was going to… I thought no one was going to come… that no one would ever find out, and I'd be  _ stuck in that stupid maze, all alone. _ "

"Shhhhhh." Bruce soothed, rubbing his back. He looked straight at Alfred's hiding place, eyes wide. Ah, perhaps Bruce was not as practiced as he thought. Alfred made a motion with his head, and Bruce seemed to get it, because he rubbed a comfort scent mark on his son's head. "We came, didn't we?"

In response, Tim only burrowed deeper.

Bruce looked rather panicked, but Alfred used the most effective means of communication he knew- he shot Master Bruce a thumbs up. The Alpha nodded, still looking incredibly awkward, like someone had handed him a bomb. But he valiantly tried anyway, Alpha instincts warring with Bruce's internal personality.

The two sat like that for some time, and Alfred busied himself with sorting their many, many boxes of cereal, stopping only when he heard a quiet whisper.

"Will you call, next time? Talk to me?"

A sniffle. "I'll try."

"Promise?"

"...Promise."

They sat for a moment more, the younger boy wrapped up in his boss turned mentor turned father's arms, a few tears still sliding down a cheek. 

"Come out, come out wherever you are Tiny Tim! You can't hide from us forever! I've got Dick with me now! You lost the right to be shielded from his hugs, but if you come out now, I'll spare you from watching Dick's stupid reality tv shows!" Jason yelled, suddenly, from out in the hall.

"Hey! They aren't that bad." Dick yelled right back.

"Jason has better… ideas? Choice?" Cass joined in, a bit more quietly.

"He does  _ not  _ have better taste, Cass. Do you want to be stuck watching the BBC Pride and Prejudice movie?  _ Do you? _ " Dick replied, affronted.

"Still better."

"Ooh, get burned Dick!" Jason shouted. "Ok Tim, last chance! If you want to watch your stupid sci- fi shows, come out now!"

Back in the kitchen, Bruce had released Tim, who was furiously scrubbing at his eyes. They both looked awkwardly elsewhere, not making eye contact, but Bruce still kept one hand on his son's shoulder.

"Star Wars is not stupid." He muttered. 

"Well, better hurry then, unless you want to be stuck watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta or whatever that show is called." Bruce said, still looking incredibly awkward, but also brightening a little as Tim pulled himself together. "But before you go, I know you told me what happened, but… your assassin said you had some plan to get Ra's off your back? I'm curious, what was that?"

"Oh! So, you know that bomb that blew up the maze?"

Bruce nodded. "That was your plan."

"What? No." Tim said, a bit offended. "See, that bomb was linked to several others, so while Ra's, and all his best operatives, were focused on me, my contacts in the League snuck the other bombs into 47 bases worldwide and blew them up, as well as decimating several offshores League accounts, shutting down League operations for at least the next few months. Just finishing what I started the last time I worked with them."

Both adults in the room were a bit dumbfounded.

"Anyway, better go pick a movie." Tim said cheerfully. "Thanks Bruce. It meant a lot. "

"I-yeah. No… problem?"

"Right then! You should come join us later, I think Dick would literally explode. And Alfred…." He looked around but didn't see him. Alfred helpfully stepped out of the pantry.

Master Tim gave him a sad, but genuine smile. "Thank you, too. I…" he shook his head, whatever he was going to say next disappearing. Then he slipped off, a smile on his face, but tear tracks and red eyes still on his face. Alfred would never find out what he was going to say. An apology? Another expression of gratitude? Who knew, but the sentiment, the  _ Thank you for accepting me, as I am _ was easy enough to read.

Alfred might not see himself as a member of the core Pack, but Master Timothy was his Pack Omega as well. He'd always do his best to keep Master Timothy, as well as all of Bruce's children, happy and healthy.

A thunk of a head hitting wood drew his attention. "What ever did I do to deserve these kids?" Master Bruce groaned.

"Mmm, I rather believe the question is what did these kids do to deserve  _ you _ ?"

And with that, Alfred swept away to deliver popcorn to the boys. 

Neither bothered to figure out if they meant those two sentences sarcastically or not.

It was the Pack’s job to keep the Omega safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am physically incapable of writing Tim without him doing something insanely cool but also breaking down and crying.  
> .


	13. Tim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. We're at the end. I have written way too many words in a story that I never meant to get so invested in. But I did! So here you go.
> 
> I'd say some super sappy author thing but I lowkey finished this thing like, a month ago, and I've just been staggering posts and editing. So. Anything I could say I said a month ago. Ummmm but thanks for the support? This is my first actually plot filled, has-a-story-line fic, it's been really cool to see you guys follow along. Ya'll are the best. Really. I'm not joking. 
> 
> There's more at the bottom, if you want to know what I'm doing next.

How had he ended up in this? Where had he messed up badly enough that this was the punishment the universe gave? Tim had not been aware before today that you could staple envelopes together to form a cape. Honestly, he wasn’t aware they even  _ had _ that many envelopes. 

And then there was the hat. Pen caps taped together. You’d think, for all the requests Accounting made for tape, they’d use it in more productive ways. But noooooo. Instead they elected their CEO to be the chief judge of the “great debacle” as the other departments were calling it. 

He was 17. He was supposed to be the  _ least _ mature in the room.

“And that is why, your honor, we request that HR be moved to the basement, as punishment for your crimes.”

“Objection, your honor!”

Tim waved a hand at the offended employee. “Objection, on what grounds?”

He’d turned off all the security cameras before this, right? Otherwise one of his siblings would obtain footage and use it as blackmail. Or Jason would laugh and send it to him at 3 in the morning so Tim could relive his most embarrassing moments. 

“They were badgering the witness, your honor! Shouting at her, threatening to block her from the office group chat!”

None of these people were cut out to be lawyers. It was like they read the legal textbook, understood the terms, but not the procedure. And an office group chat- wait.

He raised a hand. “Objection overruled, but only if someone adds me to the chat.”

The HR representative gasped. “That’s bribery! Or something! Not proper courtroom procedure!”

His phone dinged. Ah, he’d been added to the chat. And it was a meme, with the HR dude’s face superimposed on it. Seriously, how did he not know about this before? This was gold. He could contribute to this.

Tim refocused his attention back on the angry man, obviously an Alpha. “Look me dead in the eyes and tell me any of this is proper courtroom procedure.”

The man shut his mouth.

“Objection overruled.” Tim announced, leaning back. “And now that both of you have made your closing statements, I will take some time to judge the matter. We will reconvene in half an hour.”

Both ‘lawyers’ nodded seriously, and were herded out the door by Tam, who’d managed to avoid being roped into this all, somehow (Teach me your secrets, Master). She gave a last look at the stragglers, then shut the door, and leaned against the wall to take in the now silent makeshift courtroom.

Then they both burst into laughter.

“I can’t believe,” Tam gasped, laughing, tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe that they actually did it. They’re forty!”

“Your honor, permission to penchant for rights to the upstairs printer?” Tim mimicked. 

“And you looked so…. Done.” Tam giggled. “Your face. Oh, that was priceless. Beautiful.”

“Mr. Drake- Wayne, what do you do at your job?” Tim quoted. “Babysit f****** idiots, that’s what. Sometimes, I swear….” He let it trail off, mostly because he had no idea how to finish that sentence. Gathering his papers, he stood up and took off his hat. “Right then, Tam, unlike me, you have some self preservation instincts, you wouldn’t come in here without a reason. What’s up?”

Her giggles died out and a professional mask slipped over her face. “Mr. Wayne is here to see you, sir.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Which one?” he asked, absentmindedly, flinging off the cloak. It wasn’t uncommon for one of them to stop by these days. Weird, but Tim didn’t mind (he loved it). They all passed it off as an excuse for something or another, but it was pretty clear they were there to make sure he didn’t have any more stalkers.

“All of them.”

He looked up at  _ that _ . “All of them?”

“Yes. There’s also Miss Wayne, and the dead one whom I’m not supposed to know about it, and the rest of them showed up as well.”

He blinked. It wasn’t a major holiday, they’d find another way to contact him if someone had died, ditto if there was a major breakout, he already knew about the newest Star Wars movie and had purchased tickets…

Nothing. Nada. He had absolutely no idea why they’d all shown up.

“Well then. Thanks, I guess? If I’m not back in time, read the statement I drafted already.” He said, pointing to a piece of paper.

“You already gave ‘judgement’? Why’d you send them out then?” Tam asked.

“Because one can only take “Objection, you honour”! So many times before you go insane.” He started to head out, but paused in the doorway. “Hey, did you know about the office group chat?”

“How do you think I always know how many cups of coffee you’ve had that day?” She winked at him, and he laughed, heading out, into the hall.

Only to be assaulted by an acrobat.

“Urmph!” He got out. “Get off, Dick!”

His older brother detached himself from his back, but still kept a tight hold on him. “C’mon! We’re going to be late!”

“Late?” Then his gaze zeroed in on the most beautiful thing his eyes had ever seen, and he immediately forgot about whatever Dick was saying, instead choosing to follow the trail. He didn’t know  _ how _ they got there, or  _ why _ they got there, but Tim wasn’t picky. Clearly, fate had seen it fit to reward him for putting up with his idiot employees. 

Each blob of white sugar heaven led to another only a few feet away. He picked each up, stuffing them in his mouth, enjoying them.

Marshmallows. Jumbo Marshmallows, to be precise.

He followed them through the hall, all the way to the elevator, not even pausing to examine the group of people gathered around it. Then- oh. Tears almost sprang to his eyes. It was the most pure sight that had graced his vision through all his miserable life.

An  _ extra large _ jumbo marshmallow. 

He stuffed it into his mouth, finally realizing there was laughter all around him, pointed at him. Most of it was coming from Jason, who was doubled over, while Damian was scowling at him. Bruce was there too, a slight smile on his face (which for him was as big of a declaration of amusement as you were going to get), and Cass stood beside him, rolling her eyes but smiling at it all. Dick was coming up from behind, seemingly horrified about the large amounts of sugar Tim had just consumed. Hypocrite.

“See Demon Brat! I told you it would work!” Jason cackled.

“As horrible as it was, you were right, Todd. Drake’s situational awareness is appalling, and his weaknesses many, but marshmallows do make excellent bait.” Damian sniffed.

“Whah?” Tim mumbled around his mouthful of sugary goodness. “Whah do you mean? Baid?”

“I bet Dick and the Gremlin that I could make you come faster if I laid out a trail.” Jason explained. “And it worked! I get the right to kick both of them out of my safehouse next time they show up, and with minimum fussing. “

“I didn’t really think he’d eat all of those so fast!” Dick said, horrified. “That was so unhealthy!”

Bruce finally stepped in. “Yes, and your nutritional standards are incredibly high in contrast.” He rumbled.

“Oooh snap, Dick, get roasted.” Jason exclaimed. 

“I don’t eat that much sugar!” Dick spluttered. 

Damian leveled him with a look. “Richard, whatever, as Drake would say, ‘helps you sleep at night’.”

The argument descended into chaos, mostly because Dick had absolutely no evidence to back him. While the three debated, Bruce occasionally adding something in Dick’s support, Tim finally swallowed the last of his marshmallows and pulled Cass aside.

“So what’s up? Why are you all here?” He asked.

“Birthday.” She supplied.

“Oh?” But it wasn’t Dick’s birthday. That’d been a few months ago. Jason’s? Jason preferred to spend any major holiday locked inside with a good book, not with the pack, so it wasn’t his birthday. Not Damian’s. The kid wouldn’t come to his work for that. Neither would Bruce, he simply worked through his birthdays. Alfred’s birthday was coming up, but not for a month. So that only left…

“Happy birthday!” He told Cass. She only looked puzzled in response.

“It’s not my birthday.” 

“Then whose?”

“He forgot his birthday!” Jason snickered. “I knew there was a reason he became my Replacement. Too much like Bruce.”

“Really, Drake? Pathetic. Not even remembering your own birthday.” Damian added.

Realization struck. “Oh. It’s my birthday? But it’s only July 18th…” He checked his phone. Huh, it was the 19th. He really had forgotten.

_ Cold rooms, empty of life, silence everywhere. No school, none even knew. Just him, alone. His parents had sent a gift, new lenses for his camera, a few days ago. Their trip had been delayed by a month. _

_ The cake that he’d ordered from a nearby bakery. Small. Just for him. He lit the candles that night, in the dark, some Youtube video playing the happy birthday song, strangers belting out congratulations for an unknown face. The cake got eaten quickly enough- wasn’t like there was anyone there to limit how many slices.  _

_ He’d already forgotten about his 10th birthday by the time he slipped out the window. _   
  


_ He didn’t celebrate his birthday the next year. _

An arm slinging around his shoulders startled him from his  reminiscing. “And  _ that’s  _ why we showed up. I mean, didn’t think you’d actually forget, but I knew you wouldn’t celebrate otherwise.” Dick said cheerily, compensating for the heavy air that had fallen. “What would you do without us?”   
  


“Hide.” Cass joined in. “Never join- rejoin? Humans again.” 

“Recouncing humanity’s sounding pretty good right about now.” Tim groaned. “Seriously guys, I have work to do.”

“ _ Objection, your Honor!” _ The HR man’s shrill voice rung out. Tim nearly jumped a foot, terrified that the guy had managed to track him down and was going to bribe him behind scenes. Then he turned and saw Jason playing it on his phone. He gave the man the best rendition of the bat- glare he had- which was pretty good considering the way everyone shrank back.

“That doesn’t sound like work, Timberline.” Jason smirked.

Oh no. Jason had recordings. You want me to sleep, Dick? Maybe you should consider that the reason for his insomnia was the embarrassing memories that his brain dug out late at night, and a lot of those embarrassing memories were helped by Jason’s texts.  _ Jason was the reason he couldn’t sleep _ . 

“Now  _ that _ was not by choice,” Tim defended. “I’ve been elected judge-”

“You’re a judge?” Bruce asked, confused, just like everyone else in the room. Good, nobody else had recordings. “What law school are you going to-”

“I am NOT going to college, we’ve talked about this Bruce, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I hate school, if you want someone to go to college, get Jason. He wants an English degree.”

Hah. Payback. Jason immediately started protesting, and Bruce swung his focus onto his second eldest, but Tim interrupted again.

“We’ll get to how Jason’s ultimate dream in life is to study plays written in the 1600’s  _ later _ , for now, I get it’s my birthday, news to me by the way. No Cass, stop looking at me with those eyes, I don’t feel guilty. It’s just one day out of 365 and ¼, and I happened to be born today. It’s not a big deal, so why are you all here?”

Even Damain looked sad after that, but Tim refused to acknowledge it.

He didn’t care.

He really, really didn’t.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t biologically wired to make sure his Pack was happy.

Nooooooope.

Dick took a step forward. “We actually  _ are _ here because it’s your birthday.”

Cass nodded, and Bruce started hesitantly: “I thought, you might, um, like to go do something with us. Thought we might, er, rescue you from your work. But, you know, if it’s important, we can… come back later?”

Stupid biology.

“Fine.” Not even bothering to react to Dick’s overjoyed expression or Bruce’s hopeful one, he spun on his heel to get into Jason’s face. “Now if you  _ ever _ release clips of the judging, I will give the entire family copies of the essay you wrote for fun on why love triangles are the worst plot devices in history. You know, the one you put on your blog.”

Jason’s eyes widened. “You know about my blog-”   
  


“Todd had a blog?” Damian smiled mischievously. “Forget what I said earlier, Drake, please tell me more.”

“I do NOT have a blog!”

“It’s ok.” Cass whispered, leaning into Jason’s ear. “I like your blog.”

“You too? Does  _ everyone _ know about my blog?”

“I didn’t.” Dick said. “Can I have the url? I’d love to read it.” He whipped out his phone to write it down, and though Bruce was doing his very best to look occupied by…. Hugging Tim? What the heck. He was getting hugged. And… scented. Again. What was up with this? Bruce was very, very strange. Either way, Tim could tell he was keeping an ear out for the url as well.

“He** no! It was supposed to be a secret! Of course stalker over there would find out, but you  _ didn’t need to tell any- _ ” Jason stopped abruptly and everyone turned to stare at Tim being hugged. Blushing, Tim extracted himself.

“Awwww, Timmy, why does Bruce get to hug you and not me?” Dick whined, sounding just like a pup.

“I’d like one too.” Cass said slyly. “Cuddles.”

“Nope.” Tim swallowed, eyeing the slowly advancing horde (basically just Cass and Dick, Jason was still fuming and Bruce was pretending the last minute had not happened). “Heeeeeey Damian, let me tell you about this blog. But only if, ya know, I have time and am not being hugged.”

The boy’s eyes lit up with pure evil. Ok, maybe not pure evil, but like, diluted evil. “Go away cretins.” He ordered, pushing Cass and Dick away, into the elevator. “Drake and I have other, more important matters to discuss, and we need to be back at the Manor promptly.”

Jason and Bruce followed them in, heading down and out into the lobby.

“So, what exactly, are we doing for this birthday of mine?” Tim asked, unable to contain it any longer. “To be honest,  _ I  _ didn’t even remember what today was, I’m kind of surprised you guys did.”

Bruce opened his mouth to answer, but Jason interrupted. “Really? Are we talking about the same thing here? Boss man is obsessive, you really think he wouldn’t have 79 different alarms set up for this?”

Tim nodded. That made sense. 

“And unlike you, we do enjoy celebrating your continued existence.” Jason added.

Oh.

_ Oh. _

Jason must have seen the… emotion on his face, because he switched subjects. 

“Anyway, we’re apparently having a Star Trek marathon.”

Tim’s face split open in a wide grin. This was gonna be good. This would be beautiful. He could teach them all what the Vulcan salute was. 

They pushed open the doors and walked straight to the car, where Alfred sat in the driver’s seat. They all piled in, somehow, squeezing together in the backseat. Cass, evidently, had not given up on cuddles, and latched on to Tim, squeezing around the middle. He was too afraid of his older sister to move her, though, so she stayed.

“I believe there is a birthday boy in here?” Alfred said, pulling out from his parking spot.

“Not quite.” Jason grumbled.

They explained the whole thing to Alfred, but Tim tuned them out. He was focused instead on the smell of the car, the scent of Pack soaked in after all it’s use. He looked around too, at the people around him, the ones who cared enough to show up for him. It was… good.

No, not good.

Perfect.

Tenderness suddenly choked him up, and a tear almost sprang. In a rare show of seeking affection (because Tim would never push a hug away, but he never could give them), Tim scooched a little closer to Bruce, who had somehow managed to get squished into the backseat, and laid his head on the Alpha’s shoulder. Without a word, the man lifted his hand and began to card through Tim’s hair. Cass scooted along with him, still stubbornly clinging. He bumped his leg against hers, a little hello in Cass’s language.

Tim reached out his other hand, taking Jason’s, giving a quick squeeze.

Then a smile to Alfred.

Then a rather loaded glance to Damian.

Then his hand settled into Dick’s, stayed there, holding on.

Pack took care of each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops I made the ending kind of sad. No regrets. and did you think we were done with the HR/accounting war? NEVER. MWA HA HA HA I TOOK IT TO THE END. This was an interesting look into gen a/b/o, hope I did abo justice.  
>  I'm working on a Tim meets the family a different way, when he's 18, as Damian's art teacher. Hopefully it sees the light someday.
> 
> That's all for now! Thanks so much for reading. :)  
> *backs away awkwardly*  
> *hits a wall*  
> *scooches to the right several meters*  
> *backs away again*


End file.
